{Real Parties} Come Heart With Me

I am head over heels for this party! Completely smitten! The theme, the details, the colors and the photography are stunning! Catherine Clay is a fantastic photographer in the Dallas area and she recently hosted a stylish birthday party for her daughter, Annabelle.

The party took place in Catherine's studio which provided a perfectly clean palette for the decor. 20 little girls were invited to the studio for a Valentine's themed art party to celebrate Annabelle's 5th birthday.

After working on their project - making hearts out of clay and then placing the clay on a canvas that they painted with pastels - they headed upstairs for snacks and cake.

Catherine and a friend made most of the decor which included personalized aprons and a take home art kid for the girls!

Do you see what I mean?! This party is beautiful on so many levels...simple, sweet, stylish and kiddish!

Sources:

Invitation, penants, birthday hats, aprons & art kits - Catherine Clay

Art kit containers - The Container Store

Cake & Cookies - Sweet Bakes

Annabelle's chevron dress - The Measure (Etsy)

A Pink & Aqua Valentine Playdate!

Valentine's Day is just a few days away, but it's not too late to pull a small party together! Mindy Kaisner of Modern Mindy quickly organized a small Valentine playdate for her daughter and a few friends to liven up a winter day!

The little get-together was held in Mindy's mother's home which she helped decorate. Mindy loved the pink and aqua colors in the room and based the party around them! Such a sweet twist on the typical Valentine colors!

The cake centerpiece was precious and perfect for this sweet filled holiday! Mindy made a strawberry cake and sprinkled it with hearts. She used scrap book paper to create a quick mini banner for the stand. Adorable!

On either side of the cake, Mindy filled clear vases with conversation hearts heart lollipops and wrapped the vases with coordinating ribbons. She also embellished the ribbon and napkin rings with scrapbook conversation hearts.

The drink and teat display is just precious! The little girls sipped on pink floats which were just strawberry soda and ice cream and they munched on heart shaped rice krispy treats.

They also made heart shaped pizzas! Can this playdate get any cuter?!

The girls worked on a simple craft of decorating felt purses with felt hearts and flowers.

The girls hard at work!

Does this photo not exude LOVE or what?!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Thank you Mindy for sharing this simple and stylish playdate with us!

Valentine's Table for Two: Queen of Hearts

Valentine's Day is a week away! Have you made plans with your sweetie yet?! The incredibly talented and creative Chris Nease of Celebrations at Home designed a romantic table for two using the "Queen of Hearts" collection designed by Frog Prince Paperie!

Every dinner needs dessert right?! Chris set up a small dessert table for two with chocolate-dipped strawberries, mini cupcakes and beautiful cookies from Allyson Jane. Alyson's cookies are DELICIOUS and it so neat how she can transfer any design into an edible image on a cookie!

The wine labels are unique and one of my favorite parts! Use it on a wine or champagne bottle or even on plain gift wrap as Chris suggested.

I really like how Chris placed the classic cupcake toppers so close to the icing!

Cookies by Allyson Jane...delish...and a show stopper!

How cute are the strawberry picks?! The food tent cards by Frog Prince Paperie were perfect on the table and I love the mixtures of graphics they incorporated.

Now for the dinner table...

Chris used a simple white tablecloth and adorned it with black lace trim. The beautiful centerpiece arrangement consisted of real flowers with some whimsical flowers and felt flowers as a runner.

Included in the collection are Love Notes {so sweet!}.

Paper cones rested on chair backs which Chris embellished with beaded feathers, trim and ribbon.

Drink flags are so popular and cute, but Chris put them to a different use on her table. She made heart shaped straw markers by attaching two different patterns and attaching them with double sided tape. She then curled the ends for a finishing touch.

A few more shots of the romantic love letters from the collection. You can also use the decorative papers to line trays, creative crafts and embellish gifts.

Chris did a lovely job styling this romantic table and Paula of Frog Prince Paperie created a beautiful printable collection for everyone to use. The Queen of Hearts collection would also work great for a bachelorette party, couples shower or even a lingerie shower!

You can see more pictures and learn more details at Celebrations at Home!

{Tutorials} Felt Wreath

I have another adorable Valentine's tutorial to share with you! Ashley from Him and Her Plus Four is sharing pictures from her latest craft with us! This felt wreath is easy to do and you can work on it for a few nights in front of the TV. Ashley found this idea via Eighteen25 which was originally found on The Idea Room. You can find the instructions below...

Supplies:

* Circular foam wreath OR you can use a heart shaped wreath as seen on The Idea Room

* Felt in your color(s) or choice - Ashley used pink and red

* Straight pins

* Scissors

First, start by making a 3" circle template like the base of a cup. Then, get to cutting!

Take the circle and fold it in half to make a half circle...

Then, fold it in half again.

Next, take a straight pin and pin it through the bottom of the point. Then, stick the pin with the felt into the styrofoam. Be sure to place each folded circle close together and fill in any gaps.

The good news is you do not have to repeat the process on the back side!

For the finishing touch, take a ribbon (about 8") and fold into a loop and pin several times to the back of the wreath.

Isn't it pretty and perfectly dainty for Valentine's Day?! Thank you Ashley for sharing your pictures. You can also visit The Idea Room to see the instructions and see how her wreath turned out as well!

{I just have to add how amazed I am by Ashley! She is a mom of a a 4-year-old and triplets! If she has time to make this wreath, you sure can!}

Budget Friendly Valentine's Party & DIY Heart Garland Tutorial

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday! It's an excuse to celebrate the ones we love and to host little get togethers full of cuteness! Natalie from The Busy Budgeting Momma sent me this adorable budget friendly party idea using her printable Pretty Paperie Valentine's Day Collection, around the house items and dollar store/clearance aisle finds!

You will just love the DIY heart garland featured throughout the party and the how-to is listed below!

{The beautiful pictures were taken by Christine Marie Fine Art Photography}

HEART GARLAND TUTORIAL

Now on to the how-to for the darling garland as told by Natalie! You can also visit The Busy Budgeting Momma to learn more and see more tutorial pictures.

Supplies:

Scrapbook paper

Craft punches

{Natalie purchased all of the supplies on clearance or already had on hand}

Additional Supplies:

Red and pink heart doilies

Cupcake toppers

Pink thread

* I lined up in front of my sewing machine the hearts in the pattern

i wanted so i could just grab and go!

* When i went to sew, i lined up the heart at a certain line,

so that they wouldn't be top heavy.

*Then i ran them through...letting the machine go a few stitches in between,

before sliding in another heart! You could customize that to get the length you want.

i think i let it go down into the machine 3/4 times...

and then i made up another garland letting it go down 4/5 times.

i liked the variety.

Natalie also created several more garlands using inexpensive heart doilies and extra cupcake toppers!

A big thank you to Natalie for sharing these beautiful photographs by Christine Marie and for the DIY Heart Garland Tutorial!