Kara's Party Ideas | Kids Birthday Party Themes

Fancy That $100 Giveaway!

2012-02-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

It’s time for another fabulous giveaway!

Win a whoppin’ $100 gift certificate to the darling shop, Fancy That!! Wahoo! I’m telling ya, there’s so much that $100 could buy in this lovely online shop!

"When an all-ages (yes, adults too!) party planning business is located inside a bakery, you know you’ve come to a place where fun and delicious treats rule the day. Living, laughing and loving inside Bliss Bake Shop in Portland, Oregon, Fancy That provides in-store and at-home party packages for everybody. Luckily, those of us who don’t live in Oregon can still reap the rewards of Fancy That because they have an awesome online shop, too!

Throughout many years of helping friends and family plan birthdays, weddings, get-togethers and more, mother of two, Lisa Komer, learned that preparing the perfect party is a multi-faceted challenge that can result in a planner who’s more frazzled than fun. Also, easily-accessible planning ideas seem convenient but often suffer a severe lack individuality and flair, leaving both host and guest with the disappointing feeling that they’ve attended this generic party before. With this in mind, Komer founded Fancy That in 2006, following a fresh, customer-oriented mission statement to “create custom products and party packages that are unique, stylish, and a bit quirky.” Would you like to treat your friends to tea, brunch or a girl’s night out? Is your child a rock star, a rainbow, or a princess and you want to give them a fantastically memorable birthday party to match? Let Lisa provide the tools and support for you to host at home, or the space to relax and enjoy as she does the hosting for you. No step is overlooked, as Fancy That also offers custom greeting and announcement cards and DIY party and gift supplies both in-store and online.

From busy adults striving to maintain friendships and the joie de vivre of being a grown-up, to caring parents hoping to bring memorable magic to a special moment in their child’s life, Fancy That offers comprehensive, personalized packages tailored to you and yours."

Scroll to the bottom of this post to see how to enter the $100 Fancy That giveaway...

HOW TO ENTER THE FAB $100 FANCY THAT GIVEAWAY:

Each person can leave up to 4 comments…one comment per task. All entries will be verified.

1. Head on over to Fancy That and look through their shop, then come back here and leave a comment beneath this post saying what you liked.

2. Follow Fancy That on Facebook {show some love on their wall} and come back here to leave a comment saying you did so.

3. Facebook or Tweet about the giveaway {with a link} & come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

Bonus Entry-

5. Pin an image from www.KarasPartyIdeas.com and leave a comment saying you did so {this will also be verified}.

Good luck! Giveaway ends Tuesday, March 6th at 11:59 pm MST. Winner will be announced the following day. xoxo

Space Cowboy Birthday Party

2012-02-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

This next SPACE COWBOY BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Joanna (from Germany) of
Liebesbotschaft.

SUCH a cute theme! I love the vintage astronaut space figures that Joanna found at a Flea Market. The red, white & blue color scheme couldn't be more perfect, too. Who would have thought that combining cowboys and astronauts would be so darling!

Vendor List:

Vintage Astronaut Figures: Flea Market
Space cowboys tags: Casa Di Falcone
Popcorn cups, stars, star cupcake liners: Die Schönhaberei
blue + red straws: Liebkind Events

Peter Rabbit 1st Birthday Party

2012-02-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

After that last adorable rabbit party I just couldn't resist sharing another...

This darling PETER RABBIT 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Daniela Saliba of Our Little Soiree. Who doesn't love the classic Peter Rabbit books? Such a cute party theme. Perfect for Easter & Spring, too!

Party Details told by Daniela-- "I created this party for my son Chase's 1st Birthday. I wanted a storybook theme as reading is such a beautiful memory from my childhood and I couldn't wait to share this experience with Chase. I started with the printables and went from there collecting little pieces for props and beautiful products from all my favourite online party stores.
The day was gorgeous and our beautiful photographer Laura of Laura Sheppard Photography was amazing. Her photos were priceless."

Vendors-
Printables: Our Little Soiree
Photography: Laura Sheppard Photography

Alice In Wonderland Mad Hatter Tea Party

2012-02-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

This amazing ALICE IN WONDERLAND + MAD HATTER TEA PARTY was submitted by Meredith Gradishar of Zoom Theory Photography & Design.

Oh my goodenss, I absolutely love this party. Every little detail is amazing. I just styled an Alice party myself, and wish I would have seen this one first because there are so many fantastic ideas! The cake, the colors, the cookies, the fabric, the initial made out of mini rosette's, the crown, the dress and bow, the cookies, the signs...oh WOW. Sophia is one lucky girl!

Vendor Credits:

Tea party vendor- Enchanted Tea Parties
Cake & cupcakes- Cupcakes Couture
Cake & cupcake toppers- Edible Details
Chocolate covered Oreos- Sweeties by Kim
Cookies- Allyson Jane Designer Desserts
Party printables- WH Hostess
Felt banner- Taffie Wishes
Dress & bow- Fairytale Jubilee
Queen Sofia Crown- Glam Hatter

Peter Cottontail Easter Party

2012-02-26T22:26:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that Easter is just around the corner? This PETER COTTONTAIL EASTER PARTY submitted by Jennifer Kirlin of BellaGrey Designs is so darling. I just love the soft pink color scheme. Take a look at the stacked Oreo's with bows tied around them...so cute & easy!

You can purchase this whole Peter Rabbit party collection in Jennifer's shop.

Jennifer said-- "I created the Vintage Peter Cottontail Easter Collection to bring together some old and some new. I really like silhouettes because they allow you to be imaginative. What color might the bunny be? White, brown, grey, or black? Does the bunny have a pink nose or is it speckled? What color are its eyes? I chose the soft pink because it's soothing and classic of Easter. Also, soft pastels are typical of my personal Easter decor for our home.

I chose a soft ruffled backdrop to keep with the theme. I ruffled up the main white table cloth to show a soft pink one peeking out underneath.

I picked up a few different mini bird nests and added some fun pink speckled eggs. I made the Meringue cookies, stacked a few Berry Burst Ice Cream Oreos and wrapped them with a thin pink ribbon. I turned the egg holders upside down and added a pink bow and speckled eggs. I made some Strawberry milk and placed the bottle of milk in a mini wooden crate I had lying around ~ I knew that would come in handy one day! *wink*

Every day is a reason to celebrate and although this is an Easter inspired theme, it could very well serve as a great baby shower, first birthday or even a bridal shower theme."

Vendors:

Party Designs/ Styling ~ BellaGrey Designs
Party Collection~ BellaGrey Designs Shop
Photography ~ BellaGrey Designs
Cupcakes ~ BellaGrey Designs

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

2012-02-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

Come along and sing a song and join the jamboree! M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! This cute MICKEY MOUSE 3RD BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted Alison Steadman of Oopsey Daisy. SUCH a darling Mickey party! I love all the decor. And look at all the fun activities...tp bowling, pluto bone hunting, Mickey Mouse bingo, cookie decorating, pin the ears on little man, a photo booth & more!

Alison said-- "Who hasn't had a Mickey Mouse birthday party?! That was my dilemma in creating my son's 3-year-old Mickey Mouse party. My goal was to make sure this party "screamed" Mickey Mouse without using the licensed Mickey gear! We had so much fun creating every detail of this party! My son and his friends had a blast!"

Sweet Shoppe 6th Birthday Party

2012-02-25T04:00:00.000-07:00

This tender SWEET SHOPPE 6TH BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Brigid Steiner of Pinwheel Parties. And that it definitely is-- sweet. I love the soft yellow mixed in with the pinks and greens. The gumball machines couldn't be cuter. And how darling is the Sweet Shoppe Bingo game cards?! So many fun elements...

Here is what Brigid said about the party-- “This was an adorable Sweet Shoppe themed party for two 6-year-old friends who share a birthday. I own and rent kid-size tables & chairs, so we formed a large square with the tables and had place settings for each girl. A lollipop topiary served as the centerpiece, and each chair had a pink satin sash.

For entertainment, we hired a face-painter, played a lollipop game, sweet shoppe bingo (http://www.birthdayinabox.com/party-ideas/guidesdetails.asp?aseq=1483&bgs=0), danced to the Gummi Bear Song, and of course took turns at the candy buffet.”

Vendors:

Photography- Tess Smith Photography
Invitations & Printables- Forever Your Prints
Birthday banner- The TomKat Studio
Bags & 3' balloons- Shop Sweet Lulu
Sweet Shoppe sign was designed by my talented friend, Laura Lazzaro

Popeye The Sailor Man Birthday Party

2012-02-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Now this party is going to make you smile. Up next, a POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Sarah of Dreamers Joy Events & Design. Isn't this fun?! I love the spinach can cake! Such a cute party...

Sarah said-- “My sisters and I grew up watching Popeye The Sailorman, so two years ago when it came time to plan my nephew's first birthday party, we immediately jumped at the idea of creating a party that was uniquely inspired by it. Most of our guests were adults so it was the perfect opportunity to do a theme that everyone would enjoy. Since I still haven't seen much on this theme, I decided to re-create the party theme for this fun party styled shoot. I used the classic royal blue, red denim blue and incorporated the use of yellow to make a fun and bright theme which I thought would be perfect for both a boy's birthday party or a boy baby shower.

I absolutely loved working on the details of this party which included the cute "Spinach Juice" wrapped in rope bottles, the denim backdrop, the mini acrylic containers for the peppermints puffs and the metal lanterns which held in the "Spinach Can" Cake Pops. I also created a tablescape to match and used a fishnet as a table runner and lanterns as centerpieces and made some chair covers out of a stars patterned fabric and tied it with rope which gave a perfect sailor look. The desserts consisted of Spinach Cake, Sandwich Cake Bites, Spinach Can Cake Pops, Chocolate Covered Oreos. All of the delicious sweets were made by amazingly talented vendors.”

Vendor Credits-

Design, Styling and Execution: Sarah De Jesus of Dreamers Joy Events & Design

Cake and Cupcakes: Jennifer Bunce of The Hudson Cakery

Invitation and printables: Wendy Oliver of Green Beansie Ink

Sandwich Cake Bites, Spinach Can Cake Pops and Sugar Cookies: Arlene Saint-Hilaire of Sweets by Arlene

Cupcake Toppers: Lynlee North Beckett of Lynlee's Petite Cakes

Chocolate Covered Oreos: Janet Moreno of Sweets Temptations

Photography: Franklyn Espinal of Espinal Photography

Fabric for Denim Backdrop: Joann's Fabrics

Acrylic Containers with Yellow cap: Amazing Savings

Metal Lanterns: Ikea

Vintage {Tree + Birdie} 1st Birthday Party

2012-02-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

The work that went into this SWEET VINTAGE {TREE + BIRDIE} 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY blew me away when I first opened up the submission email from Heather Mitchell of HMP Studios. Everything is absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE the vintage piano and furniture pieces. Such an amazing party.

Here is what Heather said about the party-- “I wanted Paislee's first birthday to be sweet and vintage and to incorporate the vintage birdie /tree theme that we have used since we announced our pregnancy with her. I spent tons of time researching ideas to make an inside party beautiful. My older daughter has a summer party and it is easy to do parties in our yard. We basically cleaned out out formal living room so everything would look party and even painted an 1800's antique piano so that the room would be perfect. Almost everything was handmade by means my friends except the cupcake flags were by Icing designs. And her finger print tree sign in (my fave party detail) was made by local artist Lindsay Pace on vintage hymnal pages using a few of my favorite hymns. Her photos of her first year and invitation session were used for decorations throughout the party since I am a photographer I have photographs her every week of her life. The party was exactly what I wanted for her first birthday. It was almost as special as she is!”

Magic Themed 3rd Birthday Party

2012-02-24T00:10:00.001-07:00

This MAGIC THEMED 3RD BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Meredith Santucci of MJ Paperie is so much fun. I have a good friend who is planning a magic themed birthday party right now, she is going to love this! So many great ideas. I'm sure little Johnny loved his party.

Here is what Meredith said about the party- "My son, Johnny is every bit of THREE and has quite a magical imagination. The theme selection ultimately came from a play on the letter 3, thus evolving into "3 is the magic number" (on the invitation) and then the magic theme altogether.

(DECOR) For decor, we decided to forego the "rabbit in a hat" but used other magic-related props like cards, wands, capes and hats. The wands were carried from the head table place settings (napkin wraps) to the dessert table ("magic wand" chocolate covered pretzel rods.) Hats sat as small centerpieces to the other tables (and on kids' heads!) as well as on each cupcake with the sweets. We sewed magic capes for each child who attended and embroidered their names on the backs, serving as "chair covers." The kids really played into the theme w/ the hats, capes and wands! The background fabrics (red and black dots) we loved! It allowed us to brighten them up with the yellow that we used on the invitation and really tied all of the colors together nicely. The favor boxes matched the black and white polka dot table cloths and served as the perfect finishing touch as all of the guests left (inside they each got black and white winter gloves, plus toys, candy and other trinkets!) The paper products all coordinated with yellow and white stripes from the invitation, to the door sign ("Knock 3 times to enter") to the food tent cards to the napkin and favor box charms to the cake topper and straw flags.

(FOOD) For food we served Italian as the main course ("magical meatballs," "charmed chicken parm," and "hocus pocus pasta!") For the dessert table (the main focus), we made the cupcakes with custom designed cupcake bands and top-hat toppers. The top hat cake came from Indulgence Bakery and oreo cookies made up the "Tricky Tower." On the right end of the table we served "optical illusions" which were cherry jell-o and cool whip layered treats. In the back of the table, we fanned the "magic wands" (mentioned above) out of a tall pedestal vase to complete the look!

Vendors:

Event Styling: MJ Paperie
Photography: Hemmerlein Photography
Paper Product Design (Invitations, Food Tent Cards, Door Sign, Cake Topper, Banner, Napkin Charms): MJ Paperie
Paper Straws, Polka Dot Balloons: MJ Paperie
Striped Cups, Napkins & Plates and Red Dot Candy Cups: Shop Sweet Lu Lu
Paper Lanterns: American Bridal
Table cloths and Backdrop: JoAnn Fabric

Vintage Teddy Bear Tea Party

2012-02-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today I am featuring this precious VINTAGE TEDDY BEAR TEA PARTY submitted by Katie Nguyen Wells of Petite Social.

Here is what Katie said about her party- "This party was to celebrate my daughter Lila's 3rd birthday. Playing dress up and having tea parties are two of Lila's favorite activities so it was pretty easy to come up with a Teddy Bear Tea Party and hire The Bear Bus, aka, "Build-A-Bear" on wheels that comes directly to your house!

DECOR ELEMENTS:
I wanted vintage and romantic, but since this was a 3 year old party, it needed to have some whimsy. I envisioned soft palettes of pink, blue, yellow and cream with lots of lace, ruffles, fabric, doilies, pearls,
florals, and of course, incorporate teddy bear.

I partnered with Lindi from Love The Day, who was able to take my vision and create the perfect 'Frilly Tea Party' collection.

PARTY DETAILS - I created a dessert table, food table, and children's
tablescape for this event.
1) Dessert table
I knew I wanted to make use of a distressed dresser that I had found on Craigslist (for $5) as my focal point. It was a shabby and distressed piece of furniture that was absolutely perfect for what I envisioned. To get a soft, romantic and vintage feel, I created a fabric backdrop mixing
in lace, floral pattern, and chiffon. I also wanted to incorporate the DIY doily lanterns and globes I had made. The plan was to hang them, but due to time constraints, I ended up scattering on the floor and actually liked it even better than my original plan!

2) Food table
Since the dessert table was mostly lace and doily, I chose to create a ruffled food table and had a tablecloth custom-made (luckily my mom is a tailor!) to get the look and also created a ruffled crepe backdrop to cover the windows.

3) Children's Tablescape
I put two kids tables together to create one large square table for 14 little girls. Each setting included a doily wrapped tea cup, lace trimmed party hat, and pom attached to their chair.

PARTY FOOD:
I got to work with my favorite sweets designers on this party, Sugar High for Cake, JP Creatibles for custom-designed cookies, and Edible Details for cupcake toppers. Using the printable collection, all 3 designers came up with their creations.

Cake -- This was my 3rd time working with Brenda of Sugar High and another slam dunk. Going with my direction of incorporating a teddy bear wearing pearls and sitting in a tea cup, Brenda created the perfect centerpiece cake and sweetest looking teddy bear cake topper.

Custom Designed Cookies -- Jen of JP Creatibles is amazing and I was so lucky to partner with her on my 2nd project. Using the printables as the inspiration, she created 4 different cookie designs that matched the printables to a tee. The colors, the florals, and the lace and ruffles were the perfect addition to the dessert table and truly a sin to eat!

Cupcake Toppers -- Brittany of Edible Details is also a favorite of mine. She created both flat fondant toppers in the shape of a doily to match our invitation and 3D tea pot and tea cups. All the kids were fighting over the little tea set!

Menu-- A simple tea party menu was created to include 3 different types of tea sandwiches, mini quiche, tea cakes and cookies, vanilla meringues, fresh strawberries and cream, and green salad.

DIY and the little details:
There was a lot of DIY for this party! Following tutorials found online,
I created:
1) Ruffled backdrop using crepe streamers
2) Textured Fabric Backdrop mixing various textured and patterned fabric,
dowel, and commands
3) Paper Doily Lantern using paper doilies and lanterns
4) Fabric Doily Globes using old fabric doilies, balloon, and fabric
stiffener

ACTIVITY:
The Bear Bus came directly to our house and provided a very fitting activity for this party. For a full hour, each child got to pick out their own bear, stuff it with love, dress it up, and name it. The girls
had so much fun using their creativity. All compared names and outfits and then proceeded inside for a teddy bear tea party with their new friends.

PARTY FAVORS:
The bears served as the party favors, but each child also got to take home a custom-designed cookie from JP Creatibles.

VENDOR CREDITS & RESOURCES:

Event Styling: Petite Social
Event Photography: MoxieSox Photography
Custom Designed Party Printables: Love The Day
Custom Designed Cake: Sugar High, Inc.
Custom Designed Cookies: JP Creatibles
Fondant Cupcake Toppers: Edible Details
Entertainment: The Bear Bus
Dresser: Craigslist
Doily Lanterns/Globes, Lace and Fabric Doilies, Crepe and Fabric
Backdrops, Vintage China Set: Goodwill, Dollar Store, Hancock Fabrics: Goodwill

$100 Bloom Designs Giveaway!

2012-02-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

My next fabulous giveaway comes from Jenny Rauli of Bloom Designs Online!

Enter to win a $100 gift card towards party printables or t-shirts in the Bloom Designs Etsy Shop!

Bloom Designs offers wonderful party supplies, party printables, customized birthday and special occasion t-shirts, party packaging and more!

The Bloom Designs Blog is also filled with holiday ideas, party planning tips and ways to make each day a bit more personal.

Scroll to the bottom of this post to see how to enter to win the $100 Bloom Designs gift card!

Party supplies & packaging...

Party printables...

Lovely personalized t-shirts...

HOW TO ENTER THE $100 BLOOM DESIGNS GIVEAWAY:
Each person can leave up to 6 separate comments if they do each of the following tasks. One task= One comment. All entries will be verified.

1. Visit the Bloom Designs Blog and sign up to be a ‘person in bloom’, then come back & leave a comment saying you did so.

2. Like Bloom Designs on Facebook and come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

3. Follow Bloom Designs on Pinterest and come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

4. Visit Bloom Designs on Etsy. Come back and post a comment about what you liked.

Extra Entries:

5. Share a link to this giveaway on your Blog and come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

6. Share a link to this giveaway on Facebook and come back and leave a comment saying you did so.

Good luck! Giveaway ends on Tuesday, February 28th at 11:59 pm.

Puppy Dog Birthday Party

2012-02-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

This PUPPY DOG BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Alessandra Rosa of Rose Ale Party Planners will melt your heart. I love the turquoise, yellow, green and brown color scheme. The doggie bags, doggie treats, dog hats, paw prints, grass and silver buckets are my favorite!

Here is what Alessandra said about her party- "I loved putting this party together. Rolled faux grass was cut into squares for place mats. 3D doggy party hats were made with fabric, felt & yarn pom poms. Candy was places in little silver dishes to resemble dog dishes. Many doggy baskets were made with various boxes and containers. There were a lot more party elements that you can take a look at. I hope you enjoy!"

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday Party

2012-02-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

Today I am featuring this adorable VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Rebecca Billig of Verlockendes.

Who doesn't love the book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle?! What a cute party theme! You can now purchase party items from various Eric Carle books in the Carle Museum Shop!

"Very hungry caterpillar images were placed on cherry cupcakes. A mini bunting flag banner was put on top of a rainbow cake. Alphabet images from the book were used to make a Happy Birthday banner that was hung behind the main party table. The matching napkins and plates were perfect. Cupcake, ice cream, fruit, vegetables & treat images were also used throughout the party."

Vendors:

Very Hungry Caterpillar Party Supplies- Carle Museum Shop

$1,000 Pick Your Plum Amazon Giveaway!!!

2012-02-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read it right! Are you ready for this?!! Pick Your Plum's - Pick Your Prize- $1,000 Giveaway!!

Yes, that means if you win, you PICK your prize from amazon.com! This giveaway is worth $1,000!!

To help spread the word about this amazing promotion, Pick Your Plum hand PICKED ten of their favorite websites for you to get to know. Let's be honest, most of you probably know about most of them because they are some fabulous places to visit. These are definitely websites that are worth getting cozy with.

ENTER THE GIVEAWAY VIA THIS RAFFLECOPTER FORM/BOX BELOW!
MAKE SURE TO LIKE ALL 10 SITES VIA THE LINKS PROVIDED FOR TEN EXTRA ENTRIES!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you don't already know about Pick Your Plum's favorite websites, take a peek, and fall in love. Here are direct links: Pick Your Plum, Skip to my Lou, Joy Folie, Make it and Love it, Discount Queens, Sugar Doodle, How Does She, Gracylu Originals, Oh So Posh Photography, Kara's Party Ideas, and College Fashion.

Good Luck!!!

---

*This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability. The sponsor, Pick Your Plum, will ship all prizes within 7 days of giveaway end. Giveaway starts Monday, Feb 13th at 8 pm EST and ends Monday, Feb 20th at 8 pm EST. Once the giveaway ends, Rafflecopter will randomly select winners. Winners will be contacted within 24 hours by email. The Rafflecopter widget will be updated with winners names.

Tiffany Blue House Warming Party

2012-02-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with this beautiful TIFFANY INSPIRED HOUSE WARMING PARTY sent in by Daisy Kelvin of Leo & Bella. I mean, how cute are those delicate tiffany blue cupcakes and skeleton key cookies?!

Daisy said-- “Here is my tiffany inspired housewarming party for a girl's new bachelorette pad. She requested something feminine & elegant and the first thing that pop into my mind was blue, white and black an inspiration drawn from a stationery set by Polkadot Prints that I fell in love with.

I decided to use all clear jars, cake stands and vessels to bring a little vintage into the table as most of the pieces on the table are antique which also complements the mirrored buffet that we sat the dessert table on.

Guest were served champagne and desserts. We had cake pops, mini lemon meringue, banana cupcakes and the yummiest Panna Cotta by Helen of Kiss My Cakes. Also on the table we had the 'Bastille' Moët & Chandon + Black Current macaroons in white and a Violet and Blueberry baby blue macaroon from Melbourne's cutest macaroon vendor La Belle Miette. We have 2 candy jars filled with orange blossom and vanilla Persian Fairy Floss and 2 jars of white chocolate macadamias. The gorgeous Noo from Dessert Menu, Please created the cutest Tiffany key cookies on the table and smaller ones filled in mini apothecary jars as a take home gift.”

Vendor Credits:

Stylist: Leo & Bella
Printables: Polkadot Prints
Cupcakes & Desserts: Kiss My Cakes
Cookies: Dessert Menu, Please
Macaroons: La Belle Miette
Photography: Jess, White Sparks Photography

Mermaid Swim 2nd Birthday Party

2012-02-17T04:00:00.000-07:00

Is everyone as ready for summer and warm weather as I am? I think I’m in trouble..I still have a long wait until pool time! This adorable MERMAID SWIM 2ND BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Krista Ryken of K to Z Design. I love the aqua and pink mixed with the chevron stripe. And look at that darling mermaid cake!

Krista said-- “I created this mermaid pool party for my precious baby girl for her 2nd birthday. Zoe's birthday is in late July in Arkansas and that means it is HOT! We had a breakfast pool party in order for the water to not feel like a bathtub! Luckily breakfast is Zoe's favorite meal and all babies are usually happy in the morning!

I wanted to create a fun mermaid party with all my own original designs. The mermaid graphic and all the paper goods were created by me. I started out with the invitation and then everything followed from there! We had a breakfast spread of fruit, breakfast casserole, bacon, monkey bread, donuts, muffins, and cheerios. Activities included temporary tattoos, bubbles, and of course lots of swimming! We finished off with a cake, cupcakes, and ice cream served in push pop containers. Guests were treated to a goody bag of bubbles, more tattoos, stickers, candy, and chalk paint! We snapped a cute picture behind the photo prop and then the guests were on their way out to sea!

I created the large 2 for the backdrop by tweaking the idea I found on Oh Happy Day from this tutorial http://ohhappyday.com/2011/04/diy-fringey-monogram/. I created the party hat headband, tattoos, party favor tags, and invitations as well. My most time consuming project was painting the photo backdrop. I created the wreath as well from plastic shell bras from the dollar store! It is amazing what a little spray paint can do!

My husband was part of the party as well. It is a family affair of course! He created the white cake stands following the tutorial found here http://www.beeinourbonnet.com/2010/09/project-wedding-cake-stands.html. He also made gigantic bubbles at the party for the kids by following the tutorial I found at my favorite blog Tatertots and Jello! Gotta to love Jen! Here is the easy tutorial http://tatertotsandjello.com/2010/08/summer-project-make-giant-bubbles.html.

This party was a lot of work, but it was worth every single minute watching my Zoe's face when she arrived at the party! I can't wait to do it all over again for the big 3!”

Vendor Credits:

Party headband,Toppers, tattoos, tags, wreath, photo backdrop, large 2- K to Z Design
Photography: Melissa Reibe Photography
Balloons, striped bags for donuts, straws, fans: Shop Sweet Lulu
Swimsuit: Flyduds
Cake: Lisa's A Cake Boutique
Chalk Paint: Sidewalk Sensations

Pretty In Pink 1st Birthday Party

2012-02-16T04:00:00.000-07:00

What is it about the color PINK….I am definitely a girl who loves it! Maybe it’s because I have ALL boys and need some femininity in my life! This PRETTY IN PINK 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Jamielyn Nye of I {heart} Nap Time.

Jamielyn said-- "I knew I wanted to go over the top with my daughter’s first Birthday party. This was my first party that I’ve styled and I had so much fun creating the party decor. The theme I went with was ‘Pretty in Pink.’

My daughter Emmalyn is just about as girly as they come and she LOVES pink. She enjoys trying on my pearls and her bows, so I wanted to tie that into the theme as well. I love to create decor on a budget so I found a lot of the decor pieces from Goodwill and upcycled them with pink spray paint.

{photography done by Momentology Photography}

My favorite upcycle was an old rusty chandelier I found for $5. I turned it into a beautiful pink cake stand trimmed with pearls. It completed the whole dessert table! You can find the tutorial here.

I also turned an old nightstand I found for $2 into a ‘Pretty in Pink’ candy station. I converted some dollar store glass vases by pouring pink paint inside and swirling it around. Then I filled them with fresh pink flowers to add to the dessert table. You can find both of those tutorials here. I created polka dot favor bags with ribbon and a thank you tag that they could fill with candy. At the candy station we had pink gumballs, sixlets, rock candy, gummy bears, suckers and bubble gum sticks.

I also spray painted a bunch of cute funky frames with pink spray paint to display Emmalyn’s photos from her first Birthdays shoot.

For the party we served pink lemonade, club wraps, chicken croissant sandwiches, chips, veggies, fruit and strawberry dip. I poured the pink lemonade in mason jars topped with citrus flower lids and pink striped straws. I wrapped each jar with ribbon, lace and twine securing it with glue dots. See the mason jar cups tutorial here.

The dessert bar was the best part! For the backdrop I hung up ruffle fabric with mounting tape and hung pommette’s in the center. I draped the tables with pink fabric and hung the ribbon banner across the front.

We had vanilla cake with strawberry filling, red velvet cake pops, royal icing cookies and strawberry cupcakes.

For the party we rented a princess bounce house and the kids had a ball jumping while the parents chatted and ate lots of cookies! The kids also had fun tossing balloons and blowing bubbles. Of course the best entertainment of all was watching our sweet girl dig into her first Birthday cake. We all snapped pictures with the Birthday queen and she just kept eating away.

I couldn’t have done this party with out the support from my wonderful family and fabulous vendors. THANK YOU!!"

Vendor Credits/Links:

-Studio Photography: Momentology Photography
-Styling and Photography: I {heart} Nap Time
-Cake, Cookies and Cake Pops: Sugar Deams AZ
-Invitations, Banner, Food Labels, Water Bottle Labels: Chickabug
-Ribbon Banner: A to Zebra Celebrations
-Pom’s and Pommette’s: Pom Flair
-Chandelier Cake Stand: I {heart} Nap Time
-Straws, Favor Bags: Cakes and Kids Too
-Bounce House: AZ Bounce House
-Mason Jars lids: We Love Citrus
-Funky Frames: Cut It Out
-Pink Candy: Oh Nuts!
-Pink Tutu and Party Hat: I {heart} Nap Time
-Ribbon: The Ribbon Retreat
-Ruffle Fabric Backdrop: Ruffle Fabric

$600 Samsung Galaxy Giveaway!

2012-02-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

Want to win a $600 Samsung Galaxy?! Zilick Inc is giving one away for FREE!

Zilick is a website that promotes local businesses in Utah. They support small companies and give them the opportunities to sell products, feature their business, and do giveaways to promote what they sell or do. Zilick also provides a first class way to sell classifieds safely and securely by creating user profiles for the buyer to see.

To keep it exiting, Zilick does one BIG giveaway every week-- all you have to do is register and leave comments on the posts to enter. So keep going back to support local businesses!

You have to head on over to Zilick to enter the $600 Samsung Galaxy giveaway!

Be sure to check out Zilick on Facebook, too!

Again, the comments on this KPI post do not count towards the giveaway, you have to enter the giveaway on Zilick!

Vintage Valentine’s Cookie Decorating Party

2012-02-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you are all having a wonderful one!

This VINTAGE VALENTINE’S COOKIE DECORATING PARTY was sent in to my by the fabulous Jenny Keller of Jenny Cookies. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, Jenny is one talented gal. I can’t imagine how it would be to put on such a fabulous party-- styling everything-- AND hand making all the desserts & treats! I don’t know how she does it.

Happy Heart Day to all my readers and fans. I simply love you!

xoxo
Kara

I hope you enjoy this darling party by Jenny Cookies...

Queen of Hearts Valentine's + Birthday Party

2012-02-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

My next feature couldn't be cuter. This QUEEN OF HEARTS BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Danielle Arcese of Cutie Putti Paperie is just too fun. A perfect theme for a Valentine's Day party as well!

Here is what Danielle said about her party-- "Down the rabbit hole we go.... off to the Queen's royal rose garden in celebration of a very merry unbirthday!

This theme is a great alternative to an Alice in Wonderland theme. With vibrant reds and soft pink accents, this collection works great for birthdays all year round, and is especially fun for February birthdays or Valentines day parties.

You can Invite your guests to paint the roses red in honor of your little ones birthday, or of course, OFF WITH THEIR HEAD!

Originally designed as a custom order for Alana Saleh of Frost the cake Bakeshop, for her daughter Iiana's 5th birthday garden party, I now offer this whole printable collection in my shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/CutiePutti?ref=si_shop

I created this dessert buffet with items that I found at my local Michael's craft store. I purchased the mini round topiary trees there, along with the white paper flowers, that I painted the edges with red craft paint. I then hot glued them to the topiary trees. I also purchased the adorable mini paint cans that the cupcakes are sitting on at Michael's as well. How perfect are they for this theme :-) The cupcakes I purchased from a local bakery. How divine and luscious are the huge red buttercream flowers that cover the whole top? I topped them with my custom designed cupcake toppers punched with a 2inch round scallop punch and then backed on red sparkle paper, punched out in the shape of a scalloped heart.

Candy for the table included the "Queens Temper" red hot cinnamon heart gummy candies, and Royal M&Ms. I also placed little Debbie valentine heart cakes in a bell jar with a cute label thats says the famous Alice in Wonderland line "Eat Me! Or off with your head"

Frost the Cake Bakeshop on Etsy made me the cutest custom "Queen's Royal Rose Bushes" cake pops. The flavor is their famous "Royal Red Velvet" (so fitting to the theme I couldn't resist) covered in green piped vanilla icing and topped with sugar flowers, off course in white with red dyed edges! I am in love with these!!!

Clear plastic sparkle heart containers were purchased at Target in the dollar section, and filled with sugared heart gummies, as cute little favor packages for each guest to take home.

Mini glass bottles were filled with red fruit punch and adorned with a mini "Drink Me" scalloped circle!

The invitation and birthday banner are shaped as Queen of Hearts playing cards. While the stop watch on the invite displays the date and time of the party, the white rabbit suggests "Don't be late!" and guests are told to R.S.V.P. or they'll have to face the red tempered queen!

This party theme was so fun to create and design! I fell in love with all the fun details and little touches that make this collection so unique."

Credits:

Printables and party styling- Cutie Putti Paperie
Cake Pops- Frost the Cake Bakeshop
Paper Straws- Hey Yo Yo Etsy

BIG Big News! Kara's Party Ideas BOOK!!

2012-02-13T04:00:00.000-07:00

image source here

YES, it's true! If you didn't hear on Facebook a couple week's ago, I have officially signed a book deal!! I'm SO very excited! I still just can't believe it. I've been dreaming up, working up, and envisioning this book for a very. long. time.

My publishing company is Cedar Fort Books. They are absolutely wonderful and have been so great to work with. Lately I have been devoting almost every waking hour to this precious project, and a lot more work is ahead of me this next month as we finish up all the photo shoots. It's so much fun, though. I feel so very blessed.

Kara's Party Ideas {the book} is scheduled to hit shelves in October of this year! It's going to be chuck full of never-before-seen parties, tons of inspiration, beautiful photographs, DIY instructions, party printables and more!

I want to personally thank all of you for your support and kind words. Because of each and every one of you my dream is becoming a reality. I can't thank my wonderful fans enough.

Stay tuned for more book news and sneak peeks! Ahhhhh!

Image source here

Romantic Valentine's Day Tea Party

2012-02-12T21:35:00.001-07:00

And up next... This beautiful ROMANTIC VALENTINE'S DAY TEA PARTY submitted by Sharon Pardon. Is that ruffle cake not the cutest cake ever?! I love the delicate cupcakes in the tea box as well.

Here is what Sharon said about the party-- "I was inspired to do this Valentines day table. I didnt want to do the typical tradtional colours of red and white, so went with pink and blue. I like to think its a high tea romantic valentines day. I also love prettiness, and being that valentines Day isnt huge in Australia I wanted to make it feel softer."

Vendor Credits--

Photography : http://www.samanthapearce.com.au/index2.php#/home/
Drinking straws and Swizzle sticks: http://www.tlbc.com.au/
Chocolate Wrappers {Free Printables}: http://sweetscarletdesigns.blogspot.com.au/
Small hearts and tea labels: http://www.eatdrinkchic.com/
Little Tickets: http://misscutiepiegoes80s.blogspot.com.au/

Just My "Type" Valentine's Day Party

2012-02-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Today I am featuring an adorable JUST MY "TYPE" VALENTINE'S DAY PARTY submitted by Natalie of Southern Belle’s Charm! What a CUTE theme! I looovvee the vintage typewriter inspiration.

Here is what Natalie said about the party-- "Just thrilled to share our newest inspiration photo shoot with you in time for Valentine's Day! The {Just My Type} Valentine's Collection is perfect for all ages. The grey and red color palette featuring the vintage typewriter is so fun.

I wanted to do a spin on the Coffee Shop & IPad craze -- the kids loved their play date.
Greyson was so excited to call Anabelle up as she anxiously awaited his call to play.
Of course she wanted to hang out for the afternoon!

When setting up for play dates, kids love when you set the stage for fun. I found this fantastic typewriter that they could play around with. They loved typing notes and couldn't stop laughing about how it was in a suitcase.

The gorgeous valentine's are part of the printable collection from Frog Prince Paperie. Add a little vintage heart shaped ribbon or twine and the look is so cute!

The kids loved all the sweets. Lynlee's Petite Cakes provided the awesome goodies. I grabbed a white iced cake and stuck the x and o cookies on top. Simple and such a statement. I also wanted the new black and white rice krispie treats from my local market. Add a skewer and ribbon and they just tasted sweeter.

A very special thank you to April of April Summers Photography"

Vendor Credits:

Concept, Design & Styling: Southern Belle’s Charm
Photography: April Summers Photography
Printables: Frog Prince Paperie
Fondant Toppers, Cookies, Oreo Pops, Typewriters, Whoopie Pies – Lynlee’s Petite Cakes
Twine - The Twinery
Insulated Disposable Cups – Repurpose

Twilight Breaking Dawn Wedding Party

2012-02-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

In celebration of Twilight's Breaking Dawn release, today I am featuring this stunning TWILIGHT WEDDING PARTY submitted by Melissa Chambers of Truly Chic Inspirations. All of you Twilight fans out there are going to LOVE this!

Melissa said-- “I'm a very big Twilight series fan and with the release of Breaking Dawn and the Cullen wedding I couldn't wait to celebrate! I wanted to capture the wedding and decided on an outdoor photo shoot. Using the 'Cullen' name was key. My sweet friend Sandy of Firefly Confections assisted me with the styling of this and we were blessed to have worked with such a talented photographer, Janelle’s Photography. Janelle made our vision come to life and incorporated the perfect ‘bride’ for the setting.”

Vendor Credits:

Cullen Crest Cookies by Firefly Confections
Cullen bunting banner by Blush & Jelly
Invites and place settings by Uptown Girl Design
Photography by Janelle’s Photography
Styling by Truly Chic Inspirations