Sneak Peek Rock Climbing Party-Part 2

Wow! This year went great. Bailey had so much fun and so did all of his friends. I can't wait to see the pictures from BChase Photography. I finally got smart this year and hired a photographer. I did manage to snap a few shots below. So Enjoy and stay tuned....

Invitations Inspiration

I received an invitation in the mail from my dear friend Heather. She is celebrating her son's Alex's 4th birthday. She is such a party diva and made these fun invitations. I wanted to share it with you. I can't wait till the party! 

Rock Climbing Birthday Party-Part 1

It's that time of year again. I have been busy planning my son's rock climbing birthday party. This is the first year that he put his request in. So I am ecstatic about making it memorable for him. You would be surprised to know that I had a very hard time finding custom made items for this theme from smaller vendors. So I had to go with several bulk online stores. 

First up is the invitation that I created using clip art from Shutter stock. I am using this image on several of the party items. The invitation was truly inspired by the rock climbing party that One Charming Party posted last year. I needed to use those colors. They were bright and inspiring.

After making the invitations, I even wore the colors to work the next day. I really live and breath my work...lol.

Baby Shower Inspiration-"Bees & Bears"

Last year I did a Bee's & Bear Baby Shower. I received an e-mail from Leslie. I was so excited to hear that she found inspiration from this baby shower. She created a winter theme baby shower and used similar centerpieces from the Bee's and Bear Shower. I love when I can become an inspiration. Check out a couple of the pictures below. 

Sleepaway Camp Bachlorette Party

So all of this month I have been busy being a matron of honor leading up to my bestee's wedding day. It was fabulous and we had a great time! The day before the wedding the bridesmaids surprised Tamika with a Camp Sleep Away Bachlorette Party(Her Favorite Horror Series). If you haven't heard of this horror series, you aren't the only one! I learned something new about my best friend.

They went all out with the fake blood hand prints, candy, popcorn and even a movie screen so we could watch all three movies while playing Death Bingo.

Signage in the lobby of the hotel

 

 Signature S'more Cocktail

Popcorn bag Candy Favors

 Bride was surprised. They even suited her with a Camp Arawak Shirt

 Friendship Bracelet kits

 Bloody Table Set up

 Door Sign-So Perfect

 Movie screen

 Tamika's reenactment of a scene and 2 of the camp counselors who planned this event 

A Sweet Tea Party with Dolls and TuTu's

The blog world is pretty extraordinary. You meet a lot of different people and build connections that you never knew were possible. One of my blog readers, Pam contacted me and wanted to share the excitement of planning her daughter's 4th Birthday. Pam was so excited that I wanted to see everything she was doing. I even surprised her and came to her home (per her request, I just don't barge in, lol) and assisted with some hanging placements.

Check out this unique theme that was beautifully executed. To see the full details of this party go to the post here at AndersRuff

Vendor Credits:

Invitations/Coordinating Printables: AndersRuff (http://www.etsy.com/shop/andersruff)

Pettiskirt: DreamSpun Kids (http://www.etsy.com/shop/DreamSpunKids)

Tea Pot cookies: Sugar and Flour (http://www.etsy.com/shop/sugarandflour)

Fascinator: Charming Necessities (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CharmingNecessities)

Custom Birthday Shirt: Modern Frills (http://www.etsy.com/listing/77405929/birthday-shirt-the-cailey-vintage-cake)

Baby Doll Tutus: Lindsays Whimsies Tutu (http://www.etsy.com/shop/LindsaysWhimsiesTutu)

Cupcake Wrappers: Hey Yo Yo (http://www.etsy.com/shop/heyyoyo)

Doll Shirts: Linda Loves to Sew (http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lindalovestosew)

Streamers- Serendiptee Design (http://www.etsy.com/shop/serendipiteedesign)

Yellow striped fabric- Funkalicious fabrics (http://www.etsy.com/shop/funkaliciousfabrics)

Birthday Party Hats- Sweet Things Kids (http://www.etsy.com/shop/Sweetthingskids)

Cake Topper- Creating from the Heart (http://www.etsy.com/shop/creatingfromtheheart)

Pom Balls- Pomtastic (http://www.etsy.com/shop/pomtastic)

Birthday Cake- Cakes Plus (http://www.cakesplus.com/)

Photographer – Alison Harbaugh/Freckle Photography (http://frecklephotography.com/)

Rentals: Select Event Rentals (http://www.weparty.com/)

35th Birthday Party Recap

My 35th Birthday Celebration was great! My friends came down to DC to help me celebrate with laughter, joy and of course alcohol. We began the festivities and Embassy Suites in NW DC then moved the celebration over to the Park at 14th for a night of dancing.

My friends were surprised that there were still "Monique" decorations in the hotel room. They have come to expect anything from me. As I stated in the previous post. I wanted to spend as little as possible and reuse items from birthday's past.

The frame in with the Birthday sign is actually my cork board in my home office. I just added paper and ribbon with glue dots.

The only new items that were purchased were the flowers for the arrangement and the peacock feathers found at Michael's. My friends Emesha and Alex made all of the food items for me(we know I can't cook). It was delicious. We had rum cupcakes, rice and peas, steak skewers, crab balls and meatballs. My friends really support me and all of my craziness. But one thing they know for sure is that we will always have a fabulous time. Thanks girls and I look forward to next year in Atlantic City!

Notice the Peacock flower in my hair. I purchaed this at Artscape in Baltimore. The designer is Koleen of Design by night. Check out her etsy shop here

Happy Birthday To ME!

This year I decided to celebrate my birthday at the last min. I won some fabulous invites from Jess at Party Box Design by way of Celebrations at Home. Unfortunately, since I couldn't get my act together and waited too late, I decided that I would use my winnings from another party.
Below is the invitation (that I so love) in an inspiration board.

I'm still doing a party but I'm relocating it to a hotel room in DC to be followed by a night of dancing. I decided to do a little decorating as well with the goal of not buying anything new and reusing party goods from birthday past. View Here and Here.

Michelle of Maddycakes Muse did a cool thing on her birthday by telling bloggers 10 things they did not know about her. I thought this was great so I wanted to also share some things (5) you didn't know about me.

Here it goes:

1) I am a preachers kid. My father, however was very cool at letting me make my own decisions and encouraged me to grow in develop just how I wanted in life.

2) Though I love to party plan, I have another passion-Human Services. This is why I chose the profession of being a Probation Officer. I love this and would never leave and become a party planner full time.

3) I never crafted anything until I was 29

4) I commute to my full-time job everyday. A total of 3 hrs driving time

5) I thank God for introducing me into the party blogging world where I have made great connections and have been inspired deeply.

Credits: Shoes: Kate Spade Christa Peacock Satin(no longer available)

Dress: Love Struck Dress

Candy Buffet: Amy Atlas

Invitation: Party Box Design

Cupcakes:Unknown

Peacock Hair Accessory

Time to get Married Bridal Shower Recap

Invitation

It all began with this custom invitation created by Kelly of WH Hostess.

Location

A loft Hotel

This was a very trendy location and Tamika just loved of the modern bright colors. Check out this picture of us walking in. It just explains the entire vibe of the hotel.

The Photographer, Kory of BChase Photography did a fabulous job of capturing this day. I can't wait to use her again and again and again!

Table Setting

Included a hour glass(Home Goods) on a white candle stick(Ikea), fresh flowers arranged by me (Wegmans) in a Pink Jeweled Vase (Home Goods). Each table also included a quote about Time and Marriage in a white frame(Ikea). Pink and Green Table Clothes from CV Linens.

Menu

Buffet of Caesar Salad, Pasta Salad, Tilapia, Grilled Chicken, fresh fruit and cheese display.

Candy Buffet

Included several types of candy from Superior Nut Company, Bulk Foods and the Dollar Tree, cookies(Allyson Jane), cake pops(my dear friend Heather) & Cupcakes and Cake(Cakes Plus)

Love the little moss balls found at Home Goods for 1.99. Just added a bow.

Kelly of WH Hostess also created the coordinating candy bag labels and signs for the candy and food buffet.

Allyson Jane Cookies~ Yum Yum Tamika's "Pink Love" Signature drink was to die for. I will show you the ingredients at a later post.

I made the place cards just like Chris had from Celebrations at Home.(Fabulous Idea!) The first card was the name card followed by the menu and a "Did you Know" about the bride. As an ice breaker each person had to read the little known secret about the bride, then introduce themselves and tell how they know the bride. It became very sentimental.

We played only one game. Tamika is not a big game person. Neither am I in that matter. This was a scrambled wedding word game. I didn't realize I made it that hard. Notice the hour glasses on the game paper.

When the guest first arrived, they were invited to make a bracelet or earrings for Tamika. I got the beads at Michael's on sale. I kept it to a min of 4-5 colors. This was a great project and lasted throughout the shower. Once we all made a piece for Tamika, we went back and made another for ourselves. This idea found by one of the bridesmaids at Martha Stewart. It also helps if at least one person knows how to make jewelry.

This is only a very small portion of what the bride took home.