Grad Money Gift Cap

When I first spotted this project I thought it was a card holder for a graduation party. BUT, pull the tassle and out comes a string of bills!  Made with a tissue box, this is a creative and fun way to give a new grad some cash!  Find the full tutorial at crafty staci.

Graduation Gift: Money Balloons

I wish I had seen this idea last week, because we're done with graduation parties for this year, and I would have loved to use it!  But this idea from Sugar and Charm would certainly work for a birthday, too!  Such a fun way to give money as a gift, rather than just sticking it into a card.  Make sure to visit Sugar and Charm's original post here to get tips on putting your own money balloons together.

DIY Paper Fans

We went to a few graduation parties over the weekend, and this would have been great to have to keep cool!  I think paper fans are such a smart giveaway at a summer party–especially because they are a total functional item. Besides helping to keep guests cool, you can print the menu on them or a message relevant to the party (e.g. if it's a graduation party, say something fun about the guest of honor).

Two Shades of Pink offers a nice template to make your own.  Click here for the free download and directions.

Free Printables: Summer Badges

Renee and Siena have only one more week of kindergarten left.  (Break out the tissue box!)  So, I've been thinking about the different things we can do over the Summer.  There are the "Summer Fun Lists" and "Mom I'm Bored Jars," but I tried something last year that seemed to work and wanted to share it with you–Summer Badges. Together, we set different goals for each of them.  For instance, as much as Renee loves to spend time in the water, she still won't go entirely underwater.  So, that will be one of her goals this Summer. Siena can almost tie her own shoelaces--so to do it completely on her own will be a goal for her.  What makes the badges really motivating, is that the front of their bedroom door becomes a "Badge Display Wall."  It's funny how they really want to fill the wall and show off their badges at the end of the Summer!  The badges are just a little push to help with, and recognize, those milestones that mean so much to a child.

I've come up with different badges as free printables for you, and have also included blank ones if you want to write in your own goals.  (There are a total of 6 pages in the free printables.)  I'll report back at the end of the Summer to let you know how my girls did.  I would love to know what your child is hoping to accomplish this Summer!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE SUMMER BADGES

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Today's Takeaway: Embroidered Hoop Mobile

This is an adorable mobile featured from a nursery on On to Baby. But when I saw it, it totally got my party juices flowing... how great would this look over a food table for a jungle safari themed party??  Or even a character themed party--having the dolls "swinging" in the hoops?  Using multiple hoops helps you cover the entire length of the table. So many possibilities.  Of course, you could turn the hoops into wreaths for the holidays or garden party.  So many possibilities! How would you use them?!  

Find more pictures of this lovely nursery here.

Photo by Julie Mikos Photographer

TP Heart Wall Art

This totally proves that you don't have to spend a lot of money to create a very attractive focal point for your party table.  This heart art is made with toilet paper rolls and paint!  And it looks like the more random you are with the paint colors and embellishments, the better the result! From Style Me Pretty, you can find the full tutorial here.

Photo by Shane Welch Photography
Styling by Naturally Yours Events

Watermelon Baby Carriage

With fruit being so in abundance this time of year, Summer is definitely the season to be creative with fruit.  Turning a watermelon into a baby carriage for a shower, like mom at The Three Amigos did is so adorable and unexpected!  What a great wow factor for your food table!

See the rest of the baby shower here.

Budget DIY Chef's Hat

It was rainy and cool here on Saturday--the perfect day to try to get some DIY done for the girls' upcoming baking birthday party.  So, I decided to start putting the chef hats together.

When I first started looking for chef hats for the party, the cheapest kind I found were paper ones for $1.99 each.  Well, I made TEN for only $2 (not including the flowers).  To add the flowers, it was an additional $5.  Here's what I did.

My plan is to have the flowers pre-made, but not yet on the hats so each girl can color their flower with markers. They'll also add their names to the poster board strip with adhesive letters. Plus, each girl will get an apron to decorate with fabric markers.  (I'm buying the aprons.)  They'll look so adorable when they're ready to bake!

And here is Siena trying the hats on to make sure they'll fit okay!

So, if you're looking to save a little money for a baking party, pizza party or general cooking party (for any age!) this is a great money-saving alternative for the chef hats!

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Champagne and Strawberry Jell-O

Serve some bubbly at your next party in this unexpected way!  This special treat combines two of my favorite things: strawberries and champagne!  How can you go wrong?!  Pretty presentation and perfect for any time of year when you're celebrating.  Find the complete recipe at Style At Home here.

DIY Bleach Pen T-shirt

Have you tried this with your kids?

With all the expected camping parties and sleepovers this summer, I think this would be a great activity to do with young kids and teens.  I imagine this would be less messy than making tie-dye shirts.  All you need is an old T-shirt, bleach pen and wax paper.  Get the full how-to at Homespun with Love here.

This Week's Tip-off: Faux Mirror Paint

I really need to take a slow walk through Lowe's or Home Depot one of these days to thoroughly look through all their paint and finishing products, because I had no idea this kind of product even existed!  Maryann at Domestically Speaking made the above mirrors by spraying a Krylon product onto simple panes of glass.  And what great results she got!  I wonder how well this would work if you tried it on a glass vase??  I just think it's so cool! You can find exactly what she did and what products she used here.

High Heel Cupcakes

I totally giggled when I saw these!  How perfect would these be as a centerpiece for a bachelorette party or bridal shower?!  I think they would even be cute for a jewelry party you might be hosting.  They might be a little time-consuming since they need to be done in parts, but even four of these in a circle on a cake stand would have a wow effect for any table.  Find the full how-to at How Does She.

Merry Monday: Robot Party

When photographer mom Danielle Hatcher asked her son which theme he wanted for his party–he chose a robot party!  With a party collection designed by her friend Shana at Belva June, she was able to deliver with a vibrant blue and orange color palette and cute graphics perfect for her son!  

 

 

Photography: Danielle Hatcher Photography 
Etsy Designer, Party Printables: Belva June Designs 


Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Rose Centerpiece

When I saw this centerpiece, it just screamed Mother's Day to me.  How pretty would this be on a table–even for a shower.  I don't experiment too much with flowers, but I think you would have to put this together the morning of your event to make sure the roses look picture-perfect. Gerbera daisies would look really cute, too.  Get the full how-to at Katie Brown.

S'mores in a Cone

My kids finish school on June 1st this year, so I'm starting to think about our "Summer Bucket List."  One of the "to-do" that always needs to be on there is MAKE S'MORES! S'mores definitely seems to be synonymous with summer.  This s'mores in a cone from Come Together Kids is a great twist on the traiditonal one.  She added peanut butter and bananas in there to make it extra gooey-YUM!  I especially like this idea because the cone is a lot easier for little hands to handle.  Get the full how-to here.

Paper Flower Lampshade

I had this noted to post for Cinco de Mayo and I totally blanked!  But this paper flowered lampshade from Aunt Peaches is not only perfect for Cinco de Mayo, but also makes such a pretty focal point for a party or room.  I think you really need to use paper flowers for this.  I don't think you'll get the same fluffy, vibrant effect with fake flowers.  Find the full how-to here.

This Week's Tip-off: DIY Invite

I've gone into full prep mode for Renee and Siena's birthday party–which is in a month (!). The girls love to help me cook in the kitchen, so we decided on a baking party.  The challenge is always the same when I have a party at home: I want to make everything look cute without spending hundreds of dollars.  Since the party will be small (I'm hoping we end up with 10 kids total) doing many of the projects won't be too labor-intensive.  So, I'm going to share some of the DIY I'll be working on for the party.

First thing–invites.  I made the invites myself and will be sending them out in the next week or so.  I'm pretty happy with the way they came out. My husband couldn't believe I did them myself!

Here are a few tips to whip together your own invite.

FIND INSPIRATION:  Look at invitations that were done for similar themes, or just styles that you like.  Look at actual parties.  You might find an item that you want to focus on.  My inspiration for this invite and the general party decor comes from a baking party done by The Party Dress.  I liked it because it wasn't the usual pink and white striped banner baking party.  Using the bunting/pennant allows me to incorporate a small sweet shop area into the party, too.  I also started an inspiration board on Pinterest that you can see here.

FONTS:  Have fun with this!  There are some great resources for FREE fonts: dafont.com and Kevin & Amanda are two that I've used.  Many bloggers often do roundups of great free fonts and where to get them.  A few include: Eighteen25, Pizzazzerie and I (Heart) Nap Time.

IMAGES: The quickest way to find the images you want–and can use–is by paying a very small fee for them.  MyGrafico.com is the one I'm most familiar with.  You can buy a set of digital art for about $5.  I'm still mapping out my decor, but I just might buy some of their art for some wall decor I want to do.  Or, if you're lucky, like I was for my invite, you can find some free art to use from a very generous blogger!  After searching online for an hour, I came across pumpkins & posies.  I used their FREE Happy Birthday digi scrap kit for my invite.  What luck!!  When you visit, look around–she's got some other great freebies on there!

LAYOUT: As far as actually designing the invitation, go with the program you know best.  Don't assume you need to design an invitation with a program like InDesign.  I actually used Powerpoint to put my invitation together.  I use it everyday for work, so I know it very well.

I hope I've helped you find some new resources.  Let me know if you have any other tips to share!

Super Chic Couples Baby Shower

Photographer Brooke Merrill wanted to give one of her best friends an unforgettable baby shower.  She, along with another close friend, decided to host a couples shower so the mom and dad-to-be could celebrate this wonderful occasion together.  The theme: They Are Adding to Their Nest.  The inspiration for the theme and decor came from a beautiful vintage, iron bird cage.  The regency-style chandelier, bird bath centerpiece and blue and green color palette all helped to create a super chic atmosphere that both men and women enjoyed!

 

Photography: Brooke Merrill Photography
Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Banana Chimi

Even if you're not attending a big fiesta tomorrow, I hope you're able to find a moment to enjoy a margarita in honor of Cinco de Mayo. Here's a great dessert to go along with that drink–or to end any summer fiesta.  It's a Mexican twist on the banana split.  Find the complete recipe at Crumbs and Chaos.  Have a great weekend!

Shimmery Gold and Green Tablescape

I love the combination of the shimmery gold and the organic green in this dinner party tablescape by Kayli Atha Design.  It's not overcrowded so guests can enjoy the pretty details in front of them.

When you're using something like a glittery gold, simple is best--the shimmer goes a long way.  The table here is kept simple and sophisticated, and the wow factor is made above the table, with that amazing mason jar chandelier!

Enjoy this dinner party, as captured by Shot! by Ivan Diego.

 

 

This Week's Tip-off: Chalkboard Tray

A tray can be used for much more than just serving.  Painted with some chalkboard paint, use it to create an interactive party station or to just add some fun to your table decor.  I was just in Jo-Ann's today and they had chalkboard paint in so many colors–even purple.

What a cute idea to embellish the bowls with illustrations.  Use this idea to create a topping station: ice cream, tacos for the soon-to-be-here Cinco de Mayo, pizza party, and more!  Find the full post at Lea's Lirumlarum.