Kara's Party Ideas

Sprinkles

Jute Twine

Pinatas

Here’s what Lina said about the party, including her SIX budget friendly party planning TIPS!- “For my daughter’s fifth birthday we threw her a fun Olivia the Pig themed party at our home.

In case you are not familiar with her, Olivia is a book character and TV show, based on the book series by Ian Falconer, that my daughter LOVES. Olivia is a lovable,funny, and precocious little pig with a huge imagination who loves to dance, dress up, and gets in all kids of fun adventures.

I want you to be able to take my easy tips and apply them to whatever theme or type of party you choose to throw. This could be a birthday party or even a baby shower, bridal shower, etc. Instead of just throwing up a bunch of edited party pictures, I want you to see that what I do anyone can do if you have the time. It took me a good week of planning and work to put this party together, and it’s something I genuinely like to do..kinda my thing. If party planning isn’t your thing I totally get it! There’s nothing wrong with that! I’m feeling a little backlash lately on moms who throw creative parties. I like this sort of thing and I realize it doesn’t make me a better mom than the next. Throwing out some store bought cupcakes and balloons and calling it a day is great! I’ve thrown kid parties both ways.

Party Planning Tip #1: Use dollar store table clothes to decorate.

I folded and cut up tablecloths from the dollar store and taped them to the top of my hutch to make them look like curtains. My backdrop is gift wrap from the dollar store. Then printed out pictures of Olivia online and taped them up. The larger one is actually an engineer print from Office Max. They are pretty inexpensive from office printing places. All you have to do is bring in your image on a thumb drive to order it.

The boxes for party favors are from Amazon, also inexpensive.

Party Planning Tip #2: Wrap empty boxes with coordinating gift wrap and duct tape/ribbon and then stack them for an easy cupcake stand.

I found this wrapping paper at my dollar store and bought 5 rolls when I saw it. The duct tape is some I already had but you could use ribbon or whatever you’ve got on hand. Such a cute and cheap way to serve cupcakes that can be customized to the theme and colors of your party!

Party Planning Tip #3: Create a festive photo backdrop with wrapping paper and dress up items from the dollar store and your kid’s closet.

I went through my daughter’s dress up items in her closet and pulled out tiaras, fairy wings, glasses, pretend high heels, and bought some boas, scarves, and hats from the dollar store. The kids and parents LOVED it! We made our own piggy ears by cutting out craft foam and gluing the ear shapes to foam tiaras. I also made the noses by gluing foam shapes to small dowels.Having a painted frame like I have here is also cute.

Party Planning Tip #4 : Use store coupons and shop Amazon for party supplies.

This may seem like a no brainer, but I cringe when I see people buy full price things at stores like Michael’s and Jo Anne’s. Those stores even have apps for your phone to show the cashier at checkout. Also Party City has in store coupons all the time on their website that you can pull up on your phone or print. Last week it was 40% off any full price item.

This pinata is a good example. It was $20 full price at Party City and I showed the cashier a 40% off coupon from their website and received the discount. I went back a different day and bought the candy for 40% off too.

I made cupcakes and found the cute plastic cupcakes toppers on Amazon for just a few dollars. Together with the no fade Wilton cupcake liners they turned out great!

Party Planning Tip #5: Make your own party wreath for the front door or cake table.

For the wreath I used hot glue to attach a white boa to a wood wreath form and also painted and glued this craft frame. You could use a photo of your child or make a graphic on PicMonkey.com like I did. Then I used a couple of the piggy photo props I made for the kids and attached to the wreath.

Party Planning Tip #6: Make your own free personalized invitations and party graphics on free online editing websites like PicMonkey.

I made the invite using PicMonkey and this free chalkboard background jpg. You can then email your image or print and hand out as invites.”

Dr. Seuss Themed Birthday Party

Kara — Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:51 +0000

This creative DR. SEUSS THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Jillian of Jillian Keller photography.

A few highlights to look for in this fabulous Dr. Seuss party are:

The Cat in the Hat party hats / favors
The blue chocolate fountain
The stunning cake representing several Dr. Seuss stories, including Horton Hears a Who, The Cat in the Hat, The Lorax and Green Eggs and Ham
and MORE!

Party Styling and Photography- Jillian Keller Photography

Cake- Imagine it Cakes in El Paso, Texas

Crayon Roll- MrsCraftyRVing

Snack Bags- Crafts By Diana

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Dr Seuss Party Supplies

Chevron Striped Paper Straws

Crepe Paper Streamers

Jillian said this about the party- “My daughter Willow, is absolutely IN love with Dr. Seuss. She loves the books and the movies. The Lorax and Horton Hears a Who being her favorites. Naturally we decided to theme her 1st birthday with Dr. Seuss. We started the morning just us and our house guests with Green Eggs and Ham! It was delicious!

The invitations. I had some wording help from Pinterest, but designed the whole thing in photoshop. These images and wording are NOT my images please remember this. I only used them for personal use for the invitations.

For the party we kept the colors at blue and red. We had a blue chocolate fountain which was a huge hit! The cake was made and designed by Imagine it Cakes in El Paso, Texas. Every time Willow looked at the cake she giggled, she loved it!

Another idea I grabbed from Pinterest was Moose Juice and Goose Juice, from Dr. Seuss’s The Sleep Book. Conveniently The Green Eggs and Ham Cookbook had the recipes for the juice in it!

I even coordinated the favors! Crayon Rolls, coloring books, and snack bags! I put them in red bags with blue tissue paper. Crayon Roll was made by MrsCraftyRVing and the snack bags were made by Crafts By Diana.

We had everyone sign my daughter’s copy of the book by Dr. Seuss: Happy Birthday to You!”

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Dr Seuss Party Supplies

Chevron Striped Paper Straws

Crepe Paper Streamers

Vintage Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

Kara — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:10:44 +0000

This charming ALICE IN WONDERLAND TEA PARTY was submitted by Emily Waltenbaugh of Smarty Parties.

I love this unique vintage variation of an Alice in Wonderland tea party! A few highlights to look for are:

The cupcakes displayed in tea cups
The plastic flamingos used for playing croquet
The oversized playing cards
The tassel Banner
The tea cups and vintage keys strung from the trees on ribbons
and MORE!

Styling, Decor, Cake Pops: Smarty Parties

Photography: Stella Dolce Photography

Cupcakes and Cookies: Lady Sprinkles

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Tea Party Supplies

Glass Milk Bottles

Emily said this about the party- “We had a wonderful tea party inspired by Lexie’s (our little Alice) favorite movie, Alice in Wonderland. We stuck to a very dreamy, pastel palette, and I think it turned out beautifully. We had pale, floral cupcakes and cookies, mushroom cake pops, and lemonade. Most of the decor was vintage teacups, ribbons, keys, and flowers. I strung up a tissue tassel garland and a doily bunting over an old coffee table. We enjoyed (well, we attempted) flamingo croquet, and we took turns peering “through the looking glass,” an empty wicker mirror that we spray-painted gold.”

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Tea Party Supplies

Glass Milk Bottles

Girly Gingham and Pink Themed Birthday Party

Kara — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:11 +0000

This adorable PINK GIRLY GINGHAM PARTY was submitted by Valerie Gimre of Charming Touch Parties.

A few of the ideas and elements that I like best in this girly gingham party are:

The fabric rosette cake toppers
The topiary made from party blowouts
The whirly pop lollipop cupcake toppers
and MORE!

Party planning, design and styling: Charming Touch Parties

Photography: Megan Kelly Photography

Cake and cupcakes: Bake It!

Flowers: Floral Wonders

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Whirly Pops

Homemade Twist Lollipops

Mason Jars

Cupcake Wrappers

Plates

Ice Cream Cups

Gumballs

Ribbon

Tissue Honeycomb Flowers

Valerie had this to say about the party- “Anyone who knows me well knows my affinity for Gingham. It’s kind of a running joke with my friends and family. We see a cute gingham shirt or an adorable gingham little girl dress and they immediately point to me. “That’s totally Val” they say. I can’t help it, though. I just love the simple, classic, and sweet nature of those little gingham checks.

A few months back I came across a gingham styled shoot by one of my event designer idols, Kate Landers. It was one of the sweetest parties I have ever seen and complete eye candy for this gingham-loving-girl. Ever since then, I have been itching to do something fun with gingham too.

For this party we decided to incorporate gingham in sweet girly hues, but the focal point is a super sweet and totally girly SWEETS BAR. When conceiving this party design, I thought back to what made my jaw drop when I was five years old. I, like most little girls, was obsessed with lace, rhinestones, beautiful fabric, lovely flowers and shiny ribbon. So, with that childhood recollection, my design started to take shape.

I stuck with pastels and worked hard to play up playful concepts that any little girl would swoon over. We have a fun gumball cake with adorable gingham fabric pom pom toppers, cupcakes topped with butterfly gingham accents, and cotton candy for every guest. Beautiful fresh flowers add such vitality and a punch of color to the sweets table. No little girl party is complete without a fun and coordinating dining table. I made sure to keep it simple and kid-friendly yet special for all the guests. Each place setting is adorned with a cute cup of strawberry salt water taffy and on each chair back is a fun favor bag, full of sweets (of course) to take home.

Many trends will come and go, but I’m pretty confident in saying that gingham will stick around for quite awhile. Let’s just say that this gingham-loving lady isn’t complaining.”

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Whirly Pops

Homemade Twist Lollipops

Mason Jars

Cupcake Wrappers

Plates

Ice Cream Cups

Gumballs

Ribbon

Tissue Honeycomb Flowers

Cupcake in Bloom Spring Dessert Party

Kara — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:31:12 +0000

This colorful CUPCAKE IN BLOOM SPRING DESSERT PARTY was submitted by Feather Snell of Printable Parties to Go.

Some of my favorite things about this spring cupcake garden party are:

The push pop containers filled with candies and mini cupcakes
The cupcake shaped cookies
The cake pops made to look like mini cupcakes
and MORE!

Concept & Styling: Printable Parties to Go

Photography: Feather Snell

Printables: Printable Parties to Go

Cookies: Belles Sweets

Rag Tie Banner: Myour Stories

Cake Pops: Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats

Cake Pops: Savvylicious Sweets

Cupcake Wraps: Cupcake with Character
Wooden Forks: Kara’s Party Ideas Shop

Additional Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Push Pop Containers

Decorative Paper Shred

Fry Boxes

Sprinkles

Here’s what Feather said about the party- “I was extremely humbled when Gemma, the magazine editor of Party Style Magazine, contacted me to style a set up featuring cupcakes for their Cupcake Issue! It was exciting to be given free reign to style the set up as I desired. With my primary focus on Spring I titled the set up “Cupcake in Bloom.” I knew I needed bright colors and lots of flowers to make this set up ideal. I designed coordinating printables with bright floral topped cupcakes. Belles Sweets did a fantastic job on the decorated cupcake shaped cookies. Tunky Monkey’s Sweet Treats and Savvylicious Sweets created fun and gorgeously detailed cupcake shaped cake pops. Myour Stories contributed a bright colored rag tie banner which completed the table set up nicely. I had Crest Foods, a local bakery in Oklahoma City, decorate cupcakes with flowers to bring it all together. The cupcakes coordinated perfectly with the cupcake wraps from Cupcake with Character. I photographed and captured all the details of the set up and items from these wonderful vendors that also include items from Kara’s Party Ideas, Hobby Lobby and Michael’s. It was a fun and exciting set up to style!”

Additional Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Push Pop Containers

Decorative Paper Shred

Fry Boxes

Sprinkles

Gumball Tube Young Women Value Birthday Gift Idea!

Kara — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:15:50 +0000

In my church I am over the youth group (girls ages 12-18). This group is called the "Young Women" organization. I absolutely love it. It's so rewarding and the girls are just the cutest!

A friend and I came up with this fun birthday gift idea to give to the girls in the YW on their birthday. As leaders we are always trying to find inexpensive yet cute gift ideas...I think we nailed it with this one!

The gumball tubes can be purchased from the Kara's Party Shop for only $1.13 each HERE (they come in packs of 6). I also sell inexpensive gumballs/bubble gum in assorted colors HERE (including gold- the value color for Virtue)!

The CUTE CHALK BOARD YOUNG WOMEN VALUE BUBBLE GUM TAGS are available in the C & C Paperie Shop HERE for only $10! You get the printable file/download so you can print out as many as you need for as long as you would like!

Hope you enjoy!

xoxo,

Kara

Continue reading → Related posts:

Disney’s Club Penguin Themed Birthday Party

Kara — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:49:55 +0000

This impressive DISNEY’S CLUB PENGUIN THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Eugenia Isnardi of Buenos Aires Eventos.

A few highlights from this Club Penguin party are:

The Club Penguin themed desserts
The amazing Club Penguin cake
The colorful lollipops
The fake snow
The Club Penguin packaging and tags
and MORE!

Isnardi said this about planning the party- “This was my son’s 6th birthday party. He loves Club Penguin, so I asked a friend to bring the toys from the USA (because we live in Brazil and here they are SO expensive!) and I made all the party favors.”

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Balloons

Ribbon

Paper Bags

Gumball Tubes

Whirly Pop Lollipops

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Balloons

Ribbon

Paper Bags

Gumball Tubes

Whirly Pop Lollipops

Circus Themed 1st Birthday Party

Kara — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:59 +0000

This amazing CIRCUS THEMED FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Astir and Alessandra of Pra Vocë Festas Especiais.

I have a soft spot for circus parties and this one is fantastic and is filled with so many great ideas! some of the highlights to look for are:

The favor cones adorned with paper mustaches and filled with peanuts
The colorful popcorn ball lollipops
The strongman barbells made with paper straws and marshmallows
and MORE!

Astir and Alessandra said this about the party- “How about making JG’s debut birthday party in the world of cheerful and colorful Circus Clowns, magicians, jugglers and all the joy of the circus? These were all part of this first birthday, along with delicacies that are reminiscent of this charming universe – cotton candy, popcorn, candy apples, peanuts, and more!”

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Polka Dot Balloons

Ribbon

Candles

Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Polka Dot Balloons

Ribbon

Candles

Ice Cream Themed 8th Birthday Party

Kara — Wed, 15 May 2013 23:00:10 +0000

This ICE CREAM THEMED EIGHTH BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Beth of Beth Kruse Custom Creations.

There are so many fun ideas in this summer ice cream party! A few of my favorites are:

The three layer blue ombre cake
The number eight made out of cupcake liners
The cupcakes decorated to look like sno-cones and Rice Krispie treats made to look like popsicles
The flip flop shaped pinata
and MORE!

Items used in the party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Washi Tape

Candles Balloons

Baker’s Twine

Ice Cream Containers

Nut / Candy Cups

Ribbon

Items used in the party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop:

Washi Tape

Candles Balloons