Celebrating My Birthday

It just occurred to me that I have not filled you in on the latest party that I am working on! Probably because the party is to celebrate my birthday and I do not like to make a fuss about myself. My husband and I are hosting a small dinner party next Friday and I am really looking forward to the delicious food and quality time with great friends. My parents gifted us with a private chef who will be preparing an amazing menu for us at our home along with a small staff to wine and dine us.

I really did not have a set theme or color scheme in mind. All I knew is that I wanted a formal evening to give us an excuse to get sitters and dress up! That's all I told my friend Hayley who quickly designed the most gorgeous invitation for me. Hayley hand wrote each invitation in her gorgeous calligraphy. Hayley was inspired by the butterflies that are on my Herend Queen Victoria China which we will use that evening. **The above image does not give the invitation justice as Hayley hand wrote each invite and the proof uses a computer font**

Like I said, I do not have a specific theme or color scheme going on; just an elegant evening with friends. If you have any thoughts or ideas, I would love to hear them!

Image credits: pie table setting, large banquet table and pink flowers (style me pretty), coffee & donuts (martha stewart)

A Chocolate Embellishment for your Cupcake

Tiffany celebrated her 30th birthday in style with a Cupcakes + Cocktails party at a local boutique. When I saw her pictures, the chocolate T cupcake toppers immediately caught my eye! What a unique idea! Tiffany got her inspiration from here and has also provided us with a simple how-to. Read below for the details...

How to make the chocolate toppers as told by Tiffany...

I used Microsoft Word and dafont.com (to find a font I liked) to create a T. I then printed a page full of them. I melted chocolate chips and poured it into a piping bag with a very small icing tip. I then placed wax paper over my print out and traced the T's, while half hazardly filling them in. I should mention that I had a piece of cardboard below all of this so I could easily transport them to the freezer...then to the party so they didn't break. We placed them in the freezer for about 20 minutes and the peeled them right off the wax paper. We did have some of them break because they were thin, but we had made so many it didn't matter. I received the most compliments on these and they were super easy to do! You could virtually trace anything!

{Real Parties} A Ladybug Soiree

WH Hostess and The Party Dress has done it again! Kelly put a modern twist on the classic ladybug theme by using grass green in place of the traditional black you often see.

Grass plant centerpieces were used throughout the party. I love the use of the centerpiece sticks created by WH Hostess.

A color-coordinated "bar" was set up with lime and blackberry Izze sodas as well as glasses with decorated straws for the parents and striped paper cups embellished with a ladybug sticker for the kids.

The dessert table was the main attraction. I love the green and white cabana striped cloth that was used! Custom candy jar labels and cupcake toppers completed the look of the table.

The favors were perfect and the girls adored them! Each girl received a ladybug bubble tin and a custom made bow handcrafted by Mel-Belles...who happens to be Melanie from Scout, A Mom's Guide to Stylish Living...a favorite blog of mine!

I hope you enjoyed this fresh take on a classic theme! Visit The Party Dress to read more party details!

A few party details you might be interested in...

* WH Hostess designed the adorable invitation along with the other precious paper goods - banner, centerpiece sticks, stickers, cupcake toppers, candy jar labels, favor label

* The red buckets which were used for the centerpieces were purchased at Ikea.

* All of the candy for the dessert table was bought online at Candy Warehouse, a great resource for bulk candy.

* The ladybug bubble tins were made by WH Hostess as well.

* Mel-Belles made the adorable bows.

Color Palette Inspiration

Did anyone else see the similar ad by LA PLATES in the June issue of House Beautiful?? It immediately caught my eye! Not only did I want many of the designs displayed, I had a million party ideas floating in my head after seeing so many gorgeous color combinations!

My favorites (for the moment!) are the combination of turquoise & orange, mustard yellow & brown, red & navy and hot pink & navy. Visit LA PLATES to see more colors and designs. Fontaine Maury is another favorite melamine site of mine that I often visit for party inspiration!

{Real Parties} A Woodland Fairy Party by Kate Landers & A Few Other Woodland Treasures

Not only is Kate Landers one of the nicest people I have ever "met", she is also one of the most creative people I have come in contact with! These pictures are from her latest Woodland Fairy Party she created for one lucky little girl. Her attention to detail is always AMAZING.

If you look closely, you will see that the backdrop to the gorgeous table is made up of sparkle-coated grass and twig bundles. This is so subtle, but oh so pretty.

I love the soothing color scheme of the party: a mix of natural browns and greens, soft creams and whites with touches of pink and red (the birthday girl's favorite!).

The precious invitation, address labels and other paper goodies found throughout the party were designed by two of my new favorite party girls/stationery designers...Paper & Pigtails!

I love the chocolate brown table covering and custom made toad stools!

The "fairies" dined on many delicious treats, including a trail mix station. Such a cute idea that works so well with the theme!

Each party guest was given her very own fairy frock, garland and wand. What a special memory for the girls!

There are MANY more pictures and party details over at Kate Landers Events. Be sure to visit her site to learn more and to find out where you can purchase some of the items seen at the party. Thank you Kate for sharing this perfectly planned party with us!!

Recently, I have come across a few other amazing Woodland parties. Visit their sites to see more eye candy from the events!

The green grabbed my attention right away. This earthy dessert table and party was planned by Katie Grace Designs. I featured her vintage bridal luncheon not too long ago. Katie just launched a boutique party planning business as well as a new party blog!

I stumbled across this Woodland party a few weeks ago over at My Sweet & Saucy. I adore this party! You definitely do not want to miss the pictures of this party!

I have enjoyed seeing the Woodland theme come to life on so many blogs. It is becoming a favorite of mine!