Today’s Real Party feature looks like so much fun! It’s a “Wild Rumpus” Birthday that Kristen Gau created to celebrate the milestone first birthday of her (super adorable!) son Henry.

Inspired by the colors of autumn and the Where the Wild Things Are book & movie, this party is packed with creative ideas! Read on for lots more pics & all the details, as told by Kristen…

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“My husband and I love reading Where the Wild Things Are to our son Henry and are have been a bit overly excited about the movie. Months ago when we learned the movie would be released one week before Henry’s first birthday, we decided a Wild Rumpus would be the perfect party theme!

My first inclination was to do a jungle atmosphere incorporating Max and the Wild Things, but the beautiful autumn colors here in the Midwest and close proximity to Halloween inspired me to give the “jungle” an autumn twist.

I designed the invitations in an orange, yellow and black, then made a pennant banner and door sign to match.

I coordinated the orange color in the printed elements to Paper Source’s papaya envelopes and used a roll of papaya wrapping paper as a table runner for the food table.

I also used my large collection of Paper Source die cut leaves to decorate the “trees“, which were fallen limbs that I spray painted black.

To bring in more elements of the book I found Where The Wild Things Are plush dolls from Crocodile Creek and boxed puzzles for the kiddies at Mudpuppy.

Food:
We had fruit cups and cheese sticks for the little ones and “grown up” kid food for the adults such as mac and cheese, gourmet grilled cheeses and pb&j sandwiches, tomato soup, apple slices and popcorn balls.

For the table I found some cute, colorful first birthday plates at Target and ordered the BEAUTIFUL mini cake and cupcakes from a local shop, The Cakery.

Henry loved his cupcake and got icing all over himself as every one year old should.

Party Favors: Oh Henry Bars, orange fangs, and crowns!

Henry’s Wild Thing onesie and Max costume were handmade by sellers on Etsy and I sewed the crown and bib.

My husband designed and built “Max’s private boat” that fits over the top of Henry’s new red wagon. We plan to pull our little Wild Thing around in the boat for trick or treating.

We had a perfect day for the party and enjoyed celebrating our little man’s first birthday with our family and friends. Even though Henry will likely not remember his first birthday, I wanted to make it special and it will be a memory I will always treasure.”

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Everything turned out SO CUTE, Kristen! Thanks for the party inspiration!

The New Moon movie premiers in just a couple weeks! So for those of you planning to host a New Moon party, I’ve designed some new, printable quotes from book #2 as a follow up to the earlier Twilight quotes & drink labels.

Since the New Moon movie paraphernalia features a different look & color palette than the book cover (see above), I decided to create these quotes in 2 different styles as well: the “woodsy” theme for the Wolf Pack quotes and the signature red/black/white theme for Bella & the Vampires.

There are FOUR 8×10″ quote designs and TEN 5×7″ quote designs. Scroll down to check out all of the available designs. You’ll find printing tips + links to download high-res PDFs of everything at the bottom of this post. Hope you have fun with them! (P.S. Stay tuned for additional NM party ideas… coming soon!)

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Here are the 8×10 Quotes (featuring Bella, Edward, Jacob, and Alice):

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And Here are the 5×7 Quotes (featuring Jacob, Bella, Edward, Emily, and Aro):

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DOWNLOAD THE QUOTES HERE:
Note: The files are in high-resolution PDF format, so they may take a few minutes to download, depending on your connection speed.

8×10 Quotes (4 designs / 9.8M pdf) – Click here to download

5×7 Quotes – Wolf Pack (4 Total / 6.3M pdf) – Click here to download

5×7 Quotes – Bella & Vampires (4 Total / 6.2M pdf) – Click here to download

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PRINTING Tips: I strongly recommend printing these designs at a print shop (such as FedEx Kinkos) or an office with a high-quality printer. Due to the amount of ink coverage and large volume of black especially, these designs can be difficult for home printers to handle (and can get expensive going through all the cartridges!). A place like Kinkos should only run you between $1.25 – $2 per page, and I’ve set the 5×7 quotes up as 2 per page to help maximize the space/value.

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DOWNLOAD Tips: When files are downloaded to a PC, you might need to “extract” them before they’ll open properly, especially if the file size looks smaller than noted above, which means it is probably compressed. Select the file that won’t open and look for a button at the top of your downloads folder that says “Extract”, then click it.

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COPYRIGHT/USAGE: You are free to download and print these movie quote & drink label designs for your personal use only. They may be printed from your home computer or at any commercial print shop such as FedEx Office/Kinkos. (You may need to direct third party printers to this note before they’ll agree to print them for you.)

Please do not attempt to resell or redistribute these designs. If you’d like blog about these templates, please make sure to link back to this full post at HWTM and not directly to the downloadable files. Thank you!

I can’t tell you how many emails I’ve received lately asking about New Moon party ideas!  I’ve been working on the new movie quote designs and they’re coming tonight… it will be late-night though!

In the meantime, I wanted to share this email I recently received from Jackie Culmer about a Twilight/Breaking Dawn themed bachelorette party that she created for a close friend.

There are so many fun, clever details in here – from the invite wording to the mini first aid kits… and it’s always such a cool feeling to see my original Twilight quotes & labels in action at others’ parties! =)

Here’s the email from Jackie with more info on the party…

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“I just wanted to thank you for the Twilight theme inspiration and signs. I used them for a friend’s Bachelorette party. She is obsessed with Twilight (as we all are) so I called it the “Breaking Dawn Bachelorette – Party ’til the sun comes up.”

I got a life size cut out of Edward for pictures and “Twilighted” the room out with your quotes & drink labels, candles, red ribbon, and pictures of the bride to be.

I gave a way red satin wristlets that included a “note from Edward” (typed in the signature “Be Safe” font) that read “Thank you for coming to help Kat celebrate her last night as a human.”, along with “No Blood, No Foul” mini first aid kits for any clumsiness (one of Bella Swan’s key attributes) and “Vampires get headaches?” Ibuprofen packs for hangovers.

The wristlets were only $1 at Target (purchased a while ago), and I paid $0.97 for the mini first aid kits (also at Target). The ibuprofen packs were little tubes that came with 3 tubes per pack (about $4.95 at CVS).

Since it was a bachelorette party, we wanted the bride-to-be to stand out (sans the typical bachelorette gear) so I had all the girls wear black while the bachelorette wore white. I also gave her a white flower clip with feathers – only $5.95 at H&M.

Also, our jello shooters were dark cherry flavored so they looked like “Blood Shots” which also worked nicely for our Halloween party!”

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More party shots:

The Invitation:

Note: Check out the ultra-creative wording on the invite – she incorporated the bachelorette party message perfectly into the key quote from the Twilight book jacket! I especially love the modified parts about “thirsting for one last night out” and being “unconditionally and irrevocably happy for them“. So clever!

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Looks like such a fun bachelorette party, Jackie! Thanks for sharing! =)

Today’s HWTM post over at Real Simple… a Quick and Easy Thanksgiving Centerpiece idea so that you have more time to spend in that kitchen! *wink*

P.S. Need to make a bunch of them? Check out these glass 3-Tier Servers from IKEA for $14.99 each!

These cut paper place cards / drink tags from Etsy shop JonNI Paper and Decorative Art are such a fun, creative way to dress up glasses and bottles!

The “LOVE” (available in Leaf, Bird, or Heart) and XOXO designs (pictured below) are perfect for weddings, bridal/engagement showers and Valentine’s Day… how cute would the bird version be for a Love Birds theme?!

Hosting friends & family for Thanksgiving? Check out these fantastic Turkey Place Cards:

Or maybe a New Year’s party is more your style? How about some cool & contemporary “2010″ Tags… perfect for bottles or party favors!

Seal it with a kiss… and a hug! Hugs & Kisses favor/bottle tags:

CHEERS!

{Click image to view larger}

First things first – apologies for the missing post yesterday. I was just straight-up wiped out after the Berry Sweet Baby Shower for Judy Reyes (Scrubs) up in Santa Monica on Sunday. Everything went great though! I can’t post anything until after it comes out in Life&Style on Thursday… but I’m super excited to share pics and all the DIY details SOON!

And speaking of little ones on the way… Sonny and I also got some fun news yesterday. We found out we’re having a GIRL! (Our first… due in March!)

You might have seen the Modern Giraffe-Inspired Nursery boards that I designed for StrollerTraffic a few weeks ago. Well, I found myself revisiting those boards the minute we got home yesterday (uh-oh… let the shopping begin!). I still want to go with a modern giraffe-inspired theme, but decided to “girl it up” a little with bold splashes of orange, yellow, and bright pink & some other fun details.

Since we have a lot of moms and moms-to-be that visit HWTM, I wanted to share the info for this board with you in case anything catches your eye! (product names & links for everything are below)…

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MOD SAFARI GIRL Nursery Inspiration Board

1. Love Candy Lemon Print – by MadeByGirl

2. Ugly Dolls: Ox-Pink, Plunko, and Uppy

3. Silver Lake Bookcase – Walnut (by DwellStudio for Target)
*coordinates with #14 & 15

4. Giraffe Wall Sconce by Jonathan Adler
*JA’s Giraffe Table Lamp as been on my wish list for years, but I’ve just never been able to quite justify the $395 price tag. I’m so happy he came out with this look-alike wall sconce at $195!

5. Vinyl Wall Art – Safari (color: “Barbie Pink”)
*Note: this Etsy shop is closed right now (owner on maternity leave) but the storefront note says it will reopen sometime in November

6. Billie Crib Bedding Set – by Olli & Lime
I just love the designs by this UK-based brand! Coordinating wallpaper, receiving blankets, hooded towels, and more are available with each of their collections as well.

7. Accent Pillows: Fuschia Dots by DwellStudio, Blossom Giraffe by DwellStudio, and Milo Yellow Circle by Glenna Jean

8. Giraffe Plush Toy by violastudio

9. Clothes Tree in Orange – by P’kolino

10. Baby Bella Mobile – by Debbie

11. Gerry Giraffe and Mod Monkey Wall Graphic by ellynelly
(color: “Max”)

12. Zebra Area Rug – by West Elm
*The giraffe-print rug featured in one of the earlier boards is now out of stock, but this zebra version is a great, reasonably-priced alternative and still works with the “Safari” theme!

13. ABC Jelly Beans Print – MadeByGirl
(customized with child’s name in Yellow)

14-15. Silver Lake Collection White/Walnut Crib and White/Walnut Changing Table – by DwellStudio for Target
(Matching 4-Drawer Dresser and Night Stand also available)
*As much as I love all the ultra-contemporary nursery furniture out there, pretty much everything I looked at was WAY out of our price range :0 $1000+ for a crib? Umm… not happening. Thank goodness DwellStudio has some cool, affordable designs available at Target. There seems to be mixed reviews on certain pieces (as always), but I have a friend that purchased this particular collection and loves it…

16. Elephant Play Furniture – by Bobbles
I’ve adored this item for years now… so excited to finally have an excuse to make it my own! It would also make for a fabulous “party centerpiece that doubles as a gift” for a modern baby shower.

17. Glider & Ottoman Combo in Espresso – by Shermag

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Kara from Kara’s Party Ideas hosted a “Chic Halloween Dinner” party last weekend that looks like so much fun! I’m especially loving the black & orange drip candles, shimmery accents, black crows, and wine glasses rimmed with orange sparkle gel.

Read on for lots more images and details, as told by Kara…

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“I hosted my Chic Halloween Dinner last week, which had a ‘black damask’ theme along with the obvious color palette of orange and black. I also added accents of shimmer and chandeliers.

I found the perfect Elegant Black Damask printable party pack on Paper & Cake {place cards, napkin rings, cupcake toppers, etc}!

I topped the glasses with orange sparkle gel icing and added spider rings to the bottoms:

I love this black shimmery candelabra…

{Also pictured above: licorice wheels that were hung above the dessert table, as inspired by Amy Atlas}

More shimmery party decor…

Drinks: I put orange Jones Soda in a black cauldron filled with ice and set Monster energy drinks out {in the “Khaos” flavor that matched the black and orange theme perfectly}. The crow on top was inspired by Hostess with the Mostess…

The Dessert Table:

The cute cupcake toppers were part of the Paper & Cake printables. I also made this chocolate pistachio ganache cake {recipe found in Celebrate magazine..it’s the cake that’s on the front cover}. It turned out really good & tasty!

I added masks to the little figures on the cookies…

The Oreos were rolled in orange and black sprinkles..

And last but not least, the party favors were my homemade caramel apples and/or cute little boxes {paper & cake} filled with candy corn.”

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Fabulous Halloween party, Kara! Thanks for sharing it!

If your Halloween party plans are still in the works… or maybe you’re suddenly itching to host a last-minute bash since Oct 31st falls on a Saturday this year, check out today’s HWTM post over at Real Simple – Halloween Parties: 8 Tips for Last Minute Hosts!

Welcome to Part 2 of our “Wicked Bling” Halloween feature… Angela from Fantasy Celebrations is back with some creative ideas on how to incorporate this theme into a spooktacular dinner party tablescape!

Here are all the DIY details, as told by Angela:

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“Just for fun, I repurposed some of the elements used for the Wicked Bling Cocktail Party to design a tablescape with the same theme.

For the place settings, I used the same plates from last year’s Halloween tablescape, but added pizzazz with fab silver charger plates from Z Gallerie. The skeletons attached to the place cards were actually part of a string of skeletons garland from Michaels.

I used the bendable silver tree (ZGallerie) as decor for the client’s piano over the weekend, and it was the perfect centerpiece for my tablescape. I kept the black web, but instead of foam skulls as ornaments, I used “crystal” Christmas ornaments from Hobby Lobby.

The candlesticks for the skulls had started out gold, but having only spent about $13 ea. on them (from HomeGoods), I didn’t feel too bad about spray-painting them silver. The frame was another great HomeGoods find for under $10!”

{silver skeleton hand from Z Gallerie; shown with votive candle and glittery spider}

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For more on this Wicked Bling Halloween party theme, be sure to check out Part 1, posted earlier today!

I’m so excited to share this next Real Party with you… and there’s so much to share that it’s coming in a double-dose! (Part 2 coming later today.) This glitzy Halloween party is a sparkly, adult-oriented “Wicked Bling” bash created by the always-fabulous Angela of Fantasy Celebrations.

Read on for all the spooky-chic details, as told by Angela herself…

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This past weekend, Fantasy Celebrations styled an event for a client’s annual Halloween party, which has become a tradition among her friends who look forward to a spirited event, sans the children. This year, she asked me if I could provide a little style for an always-fun party.

While deciding the theme, I became obsessed with blinged-out skulls … so “Wicked Bling” it was! All of our sparkly skulls were purchased at HomeGoods for about $7 each. I accented with black and white damask print for the tags and labels for a touch of trendy sophistication.

The Candy Bar was stocked with orange saltwater taffy , rock candy and gum balls from Bulk Candy Store, chocolate kisses, Tootsie Pops, candy bars, bakery-fresh cupcakes and chocolate-covered apples.

The Tootsie Pops were covered with black tissue and embellished with acrylic gems a la The Hostess! I love how this little expensive trick can be used with a candy bar of any color palette.

We also wrapped chocolate bars in black tissue accented with the customized labels. All labels and tags were designed for us by Laura at Tickled Plum.

Laura’s awesome labels also added polish to inexpensive orange soda and root beer.

The rhinestone embellished chargers for the cupcakes, the tray for the chocolate-covered apples, and the silver skeleton hand holding the votive all were purchased at Z Gallerie.

For the Candy Bar’s décor, we used skeleton heads propped up on old, repurposed candle sticks and a plaster column. Silver sequin fabric from Hobby Lobby added some sparkle. All of the candy containers were purchased at HomeGoods for less than $15 each.

The handrail of the stairs was draped with yards of black tulle, silver garland (Christmas garland from Michaels) and spiders painted silver.

The stairs led guests to the bar area. When I first saw the client’s cozy game room, I knew it would be a great little area for chatting and sipping cocktails! The barstools and taller tables we rented gave the space a clubby feel, and the skulls , sequin accents and votives detailed with acrylic gems added our bling.

We gave the skulls height using pillar candleholders and accented with bits of feathered boa.

We had so much fun with our wicked bling Halloween theme!”

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Such a cool Halloween party, Angela – thanks so much for sharing!

Like this look? Stay tuned for Part 2 – the Wicked Bling Tablescape… coming later today!