Vintage-inspired

Have I ever mentioned my fascination with vintage style? I about fell out of my chair when I saw this image today. A children's party, vintage style ...in a bucket! Could not ask for more.

Check out Tin Parade, they design vintage-inspired packaged parties for children’s birthdays, baby and bridal showers.

My day is complete.

image: Tin Parade

a horse, of course!

Okay, these have to be one of the most darling cupcakes I have seen in a while. I am so inspired! What do you think?

I'm in love with the idea...more to come next week.

image: the cupcake company

Blog LUV fest

With so many Blogs in this world I can only be thankful to actually receive visits here. So as you can imagine I was absolutely thrilled to have been tagged with this lovely Blog luv award by 4 great Blogs and the amazing Ladies behind them;

Amy from Stem Parties

Natasha from Fete Fantastic

Brooke from Jackaroo Love

Brenda from Queen of Good Intentions

Thank you ladies, you are all truly awesome!

To continue this Luv-Fest please allow me to share my current Blog Luv list. By the way, I am aware a few of them have received the "luv" recently (that is how fabulous they are) and that is exactly why I have chosen to list them here anyway. So in no particular order:

• Team Imholf


• Cupcakes and Cosmos


• Munchkind and Mayham


• Sweet Mady's Paper


• Piece of Cake Parties


• Mom Stuff


• Sippy Cup Chardonnay


• Caddywumpus


• Tangarang


• Everyday Celebrating
  
  
  Honorees please follow these instructions and share the LUV!1. Put the logo on your blog or post. (You can highlight the photo and text of this post and copy/paste wherever you need to...start your highlight from the bottom up to get the photo)
  2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE
  3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
  4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
  5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received the award.
  
  

Ahoy Matey-part5 Treasures

What better way to end a pirate party then with a real treasure hunt! A treasure chest can be constructed with an old box, wrapping paper and ribbon. All the treats and favors can be placed in the treasure chest for the kids to discover. Give them a Treasure Map with lots of clues maybe even a compass. Fill the treasure with lots of treats and don't forget the gold coins. Your kids are sure to love this.

Please don't be a wallflower...leave a comment!

Ahoy Matey- part4 What is a Pirate to do?

Here are a few fantastic ideas shared by the Party Planning Mom herself. Brenda created some awesome activities for her kids Pirate Party...Guests were all given a bead necklace, striped head wrap, sash & bag to collect plunder.

They made treasure chests.

They walked the plank! They went on a treasure hunt.They had a ring toss, you gotta dig the hooks!

and this is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! The Flying Dutchmen and the Black Pearl. Brenda made these from appliance boxes. She also made 100 cannons from balled up newspaper and electrical tape. No surprise that this was a hit!

How fun would this be for a water balloon fight. Get some black water balloons and fire up the cannons. It might be a little wet...but I am sure it would be tons of fun.

Want to see more of Brenda's party? Of course you do! So please click here!

The Pirate tribute concludes tomorrow, make sure to check back for the goody bags.

Please don't be a wallflower...leave a comment!

Ahoy Matey-part3 Decorrr

The perfect children's party can be amazing experience no matter your age! With creativity and a little imagination you can transport your guests to a magical place. How about Never Land or the High Seas? The image above is from CHS Creative Productions (from the OC). I think they totally nailed the pirate theme, right on the head. Sure the treasure chests are a given, but the Sails? That is just brilliant! I'm so glad I stumbled upon their work and I am excited to now share it with you.

Now here is another great pic. and before you think I'm crazy, let me just say that I don't propose you build a pirate ship in the middle of your living room! I do however, encourage you to take a few of their ideas and see what you can come up with. Props are our friends. Skeletons, treasure chests and ficus trees? You betcha!

Do you live in PA? If so, you could actually rent this! How Fabulous is that?!

Pirate Ship Rental at Essential Party Rentals in PA.

I wonder if that ship has cannons? Oh yeah' that reminds me, lots of fun party activity ideas on tomorrows segment....

Ahoy Matey-part2 The Captains Menu

When it comes to food for a children's party it is best to just stick with practical menu items. Nothing too outrageous and something that you know most kids will enjoy. However, you must be creative with the presentation. Take this opportunity to rename items with fun or silly names. You can incorporate a menu board, menu cards or food label cards to let all your guests see what is in store on the Captains Menu.

Hot Dog Ships (attach a wooden skewer through a small piece of paper to make a sail and then pierce it through a hot dog; served with gold fish)

Captain Crunch chicken; served with Peg legs (carrot sticks)

Ocean with sunken treasures (blue Jell-O with diced peaches)
Pineapple Limeade and Sharks Blood

Now for the piece de resistance...the cake! I like this one from Studio Cakes. I mean, what else could you ask for?!

if you have something else in mind? Then Please check these out and if you are more of a cupcake fan, well here you go. I personally love this one from clares cupcakes Wow who new Pirate parties could be so cute!

See you tomorrow for what is my favorite part of the planning process...The decorrrrr.
Sorry, BAD PIRATE impression

Ahoy Matey-part1 Yer invited

Happy Monday!
This week I thought we could dedicate to just one particular theme. It's been popular for quite some time but remains a favorite for many.The Pirate party. It's a popular theme that offers many, many possibilities.

For starters, as always the invites. If you are anything like me, you will probably want to make them yourself. The easiest option, I would propose is to make treasure maps. You can find "old paper" at most paper/craft stores. Get savey with photo shop and print a treasure map, a compass and the Seas. The invitation can be worded with something like this...

Ahoy Matey

Won't you join us for a Swashbuckling Good Time

at Captain Jason's 5th Birthday

We set sail at 2:00pm

Chart yer course for

723 Davey Jones St.

RSVP by 1.20.09

or walk the plank!

You can also distress the invites: rip and maybe even burn the edges (be careful). Roll them up and tie them with some twine or ribbon.

However, if you are afraid of fire and not that crafty (no shame in that) check out what Birthday in a Box offers:

Now that is one easy way to set a theme! If you want something a little more chic, how about these from Plum Party.Another option is to have photo invitations made. Like these from Scrapless Press.
They are absolutely adorable! Make sure you get the complimenting Thank you notes while you are at it. Now we all know professionally printed invitations will involve a little extra time so get to planning and we will talk about the Captains Menu tomorrow. What do Pirates eat you ask...not sure but I' gonna look into it. Until then Matey!

Happy Blogoversary to My Insanity!

In honor of My Insanity blogoversay party I thought I could share a shindig I have been dreaming up. I don't think I have ever mentioned it but I am a big fan of Barbie. I love, LOVE all the vintage stuff and have a great affinity for the 70's play sets; pool party, patio, BBQ etc. I am also a sucker for all the little accessories. My parents gave me my first Barbie Dream House when I was 5 and well, need I say more? Okay back to the party idea. So how about Barbie Pool Party? Talk about a Little Shindig!

I want the lawn chairs, the patio umbrellas, everything in those fabulous 70's colors, the Pink BBQ and of course the doughboy pool ,with the slide.

Okay so the pool might blow the budget but we can certainly take some inspiration right? Right! Let's do beach balls as invitations. You can get all the party details printed on them ( see printing company's who offer promotional items). Quick note: send the invitations deflated and let your guest blow up the beach ball to get all the party details. Maybe that way they might be a little light headed and will be more inclined to the idea of ..wait for it: coming to the party as there favorite Barbie or Ken! Now I know that is probobly a lot of Ken's but the gals have tons of choices..Malibu Barbie, Holiday Barbie, Badgley Mischka Barbie you get the hint. Now the day of the party I would ofcourse park my Pink Corvette right in front of the house, so everyone knows where the party is. (and no, I do not own a Pink Corvette but maybe I can rent one?) On the menu Hot dogs and hamburgers of course, Pink lemonade, a must. I would also set up dressing rooms labeled "Barbies" & "Kens" for the guests to slip into there swim suits. The rooms will be stocked with extra beach towels, flip flops and big 70's sun glasses( just in case ) and everything will smell like coconut sun tan lotion. I haven't figured out the party favors yet...all I can think about is maybe some Pink frisbees. Maybe have something clever printed on them too.
I suppose thats about all I have for now. So if you have freinds with a good sence of humor this party would be great for a birthday, BBQ or just for fun. This party can also be toned down for a young girls b-day party. I found this at the Loot Lady.com


My daughter turns 5 this summer and she already loves Barbie. This theme is in the running but she changes her mind every day. One thing is for sure, we are getting her her own Barbie Dream House this year. Vintage, of course.

Game Day

Finding new themes for kids birthday parties is a constant challenge for me. Trust me, I have seen my fair share. So it is no surprise how delighted I was to find this Little Quarterback Tailgate party that Natalie over at Team Imhoffs (how fitting right?) put together for her adorable son Braeden's 1st birthday.

The invitations were game tickets she actually designed herself! The party took place outdoors with lawn chairs, tailgate and all (BTW-no alcohol of course ). Guest were invited to wear their team jerseys. The cake was a football and the birthday boys highchair was decorated with a little goal post.

I think this theme is adorable and Natalie did a fabulous job putting it together. I hope I have the opportunity to use some of her ideas very soon.

Thanks for sharing Natalie!

images; Team Ihoffs

Kayla Land

Happy New Year All! I hope everyone had a Fantastic Holiday season. I don't know about everyone else but this season seem to fly by way too quick. Too many things to do and very little time to do it in.
But now the New Year is finally here and I am so very inspired! I am looking forward to what is in store for us this year and I can't wait to share many new and Fabulous ideas with you in the coming year.

As promised, I have posted a few pics of a Little Shindig we were so fortunate to be a part of recently...Kayla's big 5 a Candy Land theme party! The party was a hit and was so much of fun putting it together. You will notice that Gloppy made it okay. The Kids enjoyed following the color path trough out Kayla land. They were treated to Frosty Lake makeovers (snowflake and candy land tattoos). There was a photo opportunity with The Gingerbread Tree himself and they also tried their luck at the Peppermint Tree ring toss. All in all it was a great Little Shindig. I hope you will take a second to take a peak at a few more pics here and let us know what you think.