Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Birthday Party

My baby is getting ready to turn 5 in a few weeks.  I literally can not wrap my head around FIVE.  I just keep turning it over and over in my head wondering how it has went so fast.  (And then I read this by Katie and this by The Nester and I basically just sob because it never stops.  Parenting is so lovely and strangely hard. #bittersweet)  Anyways, back to the point at hand - Ninja Turtles!  When my nearly-5 baby was nearly-4 he desperately wanted a TMNT birthday party.   Because I take a long time to process my thoughts and am a terrible blogger who doesn't post things anywhere online in a timely fashion this post is a year late.  But somehow it feels ok to share this party in honor of his upcoming birthday, which I know makes no sense to anyone but me.  #thatsok

I love, love, love being a boy mama.  I love the loud, dirty, wrestling around, skinned knees-ness of boys.  But one of the things I struggle with HARD are characters.  Oy, the characters.  And boy characters pretty much all follow the same themes - they fight, they defeat bad guys, they have super powers &/or are weird.  So when TMNT came up I fought it.  I am fighting the good fight for all of us character-disliking mamas out there - and I am epically losing.  Bleh.  So when this came around as the toy/character of choice I decided that I would be ok with the fun-happy-silly turtles of the 80's, not the mean, aggressive, grunting TMNT of 2014.  (I'm hoping that I'm not the only mother out there who has grossly over thought this.)

But I digress.  So, how about if I actually talk about the party?  After over-analyzing if we should do this theme or something else I knew that our kiddo would love it the most and we went for it.  Honestly I had no idea how to make it fun.  I wanted it to be interactive and not just a lot of cutesy decorations. I decided pretty early on that I needed a few basics to do this party.

Pretty simple, right?  This party was very easy to set up.  We created a maze that had Turtle silhouettes on foam core at the entrances.  The maze was made of plastic electrical conduit that was cut in thirds, Dollar Tree pool noodles, and crepe paper streamers.  The whole maze cost around $20.  We had clothes line poles at our last house and we hung balloons at varying heights from the clothes lines.  That was the biggest hit of the whole party with the kids!  At the entrance of the maze we set up a tub with foam swords (also from the Dollar Tree) and DIY TMNT masks.  We didn't have many girls at the party but I can attest that the boys LOVED the swords and fighting the balloons.  Those things didn't stand a chance!  If you are throwing your own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle themed party this is the one thing that you have to do!

I wish that the pictures of the yard weren't so blown out.  But that's what happens when you have to shoot in full sun, you get the harsh sun/shade shadow.  To do the maze take your 10 foot electrical conduit and cut it into 3 pieces with a saw.  Then take a rubber mallet and tap them into the ground.  Slide your pool noodle over the tubing and then wrap the paper around streamers around different sections of the noodles making 'walls'.  Seriously, the possibilities are endless with this idea.  For the turtle silhouettes I picked up the black foam core from the Dollar Tree (#unofficialsponsor) and had my friend from Sprinkle The Kindness make me the turtle silhouettes.  She also cut the letters for the Happy Birthday sign behind the cupcake/gift table.

The rest of the party was just as simple.  I did paint the TMNT peg dolls for the cupcakes, but those were mostly for me because I thought it would be cute (my son declares that he 'hates peg dolls') and I wanted to do them.  For something similar you could look for something on Etsy or just use smaller figurines.  I had grabbed the green 'Pizza' banner after Christmas because I had a sneaking suspicion I would end up doing a turtle party.  I used some striped washi tape to spell 'Pizza'.  I used a scrap piece of wood to make a 'Mutagen' sign for a batch of green punch.  

And that's that!  If you are planning a TMNT themed party what are your plans for the day?  

---

Looking for more birthday party inspiration?  You might enjoy these too:

Reading Themed Birthday Party

Little Mister Birthday Party

TMNT Pinterest Inspiration Board

Rustic Glam Baby Shower Inspiration

This past weekend I co-hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law.  I showed the invitations for the shower here.  I meant to post this blog last week but the days got ahead of me so it didn't go live - oops!  I used the design from Craftberry Bush for the invitations and continued it on all of the printables used at the shower too.

We used a lot of glitter accents at the shower.  We DIY'd a ribbon banner that we had glitter strands in and had a friend cut a cake topper similar to the one shown.  If you are planning your own rustic glam baby shower here are some links that may interest you:

Wood Chargers with Glitter

Bear Hug Print

Deer Head Silhouette

Oh My Charley Ribbon Banners

I'll be back soon with pictures of our little shower.  It was a small but sweet celebration!  What are you celebrating lately?

Oscar Party 2011 Recap

Our 2011 Oscar party went off without a hitch and I do believe it is the best one we've thrown to date!  To start things off though Sarah brought me her copy of the invitation for me to share on the blog.  Here is the front...

And here is the inside....

We always lay out a 'red carpet' for our guests to walk down, but this year we added 2 large tripods (paparazzi) to catch everyone's arrival.

Next to the red carpet we had a station with a sign that read, "And the winner is..." and a frame filled with nametags that listed different awards and the guests name.  I won Best Director!  You will also notice that the official sponsor of the 2011 Oscar party is Chris's Film Blog. 

Here is a view from the formal living room (where guests entered) into the Voting Booth (dining room).

In years past the voting booth has only allowed for two people to vote at a time.  This year we changed it up a bit to allow for 4 people to vote at a time. 

The inside of the voting booth.  I really love this tablecloth but find it can be a bit busy.  To help our guests not be so dizzy while in the booth I set each station with a simple red napkin. 

From the Voting Booth guests entered into the food room to find Red Carpet Snacks.  Food was kept simple with just four menu options, cupcakes, bruschetta, cookies, and popcorn.  We kept everything on the food table consistent with the color scheme of red and white.  The cupcake stand was made from empty boxes wrapped in gold wrapping paper.  The Oscar statue at the top was something I already owned (true story), but could be purchased at any party store for $5 or less.  I also made some very simple cupcake toppers out of left over red paper, toothpicks, a star punch, and rubber cement. 

The Oscar viewing area (family room) was also outfitted in red and white.  Generally when we host events at our house nothing is sacred, furniture gets moved, pictures get taken down, etc.  Although I had planned to drape behind the couch and TV and remove the rest of the wall decor it didn't end up happening since I wasn't the one doing much of the manual labor this time around.  Overall though I still thought it turned out well.  We covered all of our throw pillow with extra while pillow cases we had on hand.

Chris subscribes to Film Comment magazine so we laid out several of those for our guests to read through.  I felt like the table needed a tray, but had already used my gold tray elsewhere.  SO an extra black frame got a bit of gold wrapping paper and there you go!

Chris also owns several vintage movie cameras, so placed those around for decor as well.  The two movie projectors flanked the TV.

This is a bit of a misc decor item, but whenever we have large amounts of people over (especially if some have not been to our home before) I like to keep things as straight forward as possible, so I whipped up a couple of theme related Restroom signs to direct people to the facilities.

Last but not least I thought I'd leave you with this awesome picture of Chris and I's debut down the red carpet.  It's hard being this famous.

Here's hoping that 2011 will be host to enough decent movies that Chris deems it ok to host the party again next year! 

Alice in Wonderland Party

Tonight I am going to see Alice in Wonderland - and I'm SOOO excited!  I've been waiting to see the movie for months but have been to sick the past few weeks to go.  In honor of the movie I am going to share some images to help inspire your own Alice in Wonderland event.  You could use this theme for a birthday, shower, or theme party, and I have even seem some weddings with elements of this as well.  Enjoy!

If you are planning an Alice in Wonderland party make sure to use tons of color and pattern.  I wouldn't shy away from whimsical touches and would go with the 'more is more' mantra!

Many of these photos are by Jessica Claire, the bottom montage is from Project Wedding. 

Appetizer tray

On Christmas Eve my curly haired husband and I were able to host his family over for a Christmas exchange.  Although we didn't sit down to a meal we wanted to make the extra effort to make the day special.  In that vein I pulled out a gold serving tray, some monogrammed appetizer plates (thanks mom!), ice bucket, candy dish, cheese dish, small dish caddy, and a few juice glasses to create this afternoon snack station.  I'd like to note that outside of the food and drinks purchased the cost for pulling this together was $0.

Don't forget to check back on Friday for the big announcement!

Damask wedding cake

I was over at A Practical Wedding looking at Meg's Wedding Graduate post and check out their wedding cake:

How perfect would this cake be with the tween birthday party I detailed yesterday?  L-O-V-E it!!!

Tween Birthday Party

Recently it was decided that I would help throw my 11 year old sister's birthday party.  This may not seem like a big deal to most people but when your 11 year old sister (who thinks that you are the most awesome thing ever) starts telling her friends that she's having a 'professional party planner' do her birthday party, it becomes a big deal real fast.  My sister's name is Emma and she told me that she wanted to 1) have a sleepover 2) do a smiley face theme and 3) give out gift bags.  Armed with those requests I decided that 12 is the height of the 'tween' years.  This party needs to be fun, but not kiddish, and grown-up, but not boring. 

Here are the main bullets of the party:

• Black and Yellow with damask accents
• Smiley faces will be used as accents and in the gift bags
• Photo booth with a black backdrop and yellow props
• Nail station with yellow & black nail polish
• Candy buffet

And here is the mood board to give you a feel for what the party will be like:

The party will be announced with party invites very similar to the ones pictured below.  White boxes with yellow lemon heads (kids love candy, right?) and damask printed invites.  They will be wrapped with a printable damask label (pictured in the mood board, upper right corner) that I found online at The Fussy Designer Blog.

I think this is going to be super cute!

Plum Party Sale!

Right now Plum Party is having their 48 hour Fall Sale! The sale is good for almost everything in the store so get over there now to score some great deals at 75% off! Make sure and use coupon code FALL48HR at the checkout!

Wizard of Oz Baby Shower Inspiration Post

The time has finally arrived - my sister's baby shower is in less than 1 week! For the shower I decided to do a Wizard of Oz theme. Here is the inspiration board for the party: Obviously her shower won't be an exact replica of the above but the overall scheme of the party will be blue & white gingham with red & white polka dots & sunflowers. Here are some great resources if you're throwing a Wizard of Oz party of your own:



Red & White polka dot plates from Plum Party
Blue Gingham Tableclothes from Guardian Eco StoreSunflower Centerpieces from Costco

Lollipops from Sweet Factory

Don't forget to serve lots of fresh fruit & home baked goodness!


Stay tuned for real party pics next week!

---

If you've come across this post for your own inspiration, check out this one for pictures of the actual party.  You can also read more about it on the Stem Fabulous Parties blog here and get help with planning your own themed event here.  Thanks for stopping by!

Summer Party Inspiration

This post did not start out intending to be an outdoor party inspiration post, but one fabulous photo led to another which bred this post.

I have heard some flak about the whole idea of the 'outdoor room' or 'outdoor space' from several sources. Personally I like the idea of hosting events outdoors and making them feel like an extension of an indoor space. Some of these inspiration photos are more elaborate than others (they were to fab to exclude) but some of these are perfect in their simplicity. Hopefully you'll find inspiration for your next summer gathering!

From My Lifetime
What I like about this table setting is that it really does seem as if it could be put together from any home in America. There is nothing spectacular about any of the pieces here except that they've been artfully arranged. Remember when you're looking at an inspiration photo it is inspirational, not necessarily for reproduction. Any light throw or scarf could be used as well as any assortment of candle holders, vases, and white dishware.

From Southern Accents

I included this photo again because it would be easy to replicate. Many people have tiled patio tables - don't cover up all that gorgeous color - use it to jump start your table setting. A paired down dinner set lets the table top shine through with some well coordinating accents.

Mix & Match table setting from Madison Magazine

This looks like a basic picnic table with coordinating colored dinnerware and accessories. Perfect coordination sometimes is stuffy - this is much more casual and laid back.

Here are some more elaborate examples for weddings or larger scale events:

From Style Me Pretty

The lights on the ceiling could be replicated in any event. For a smaller event the basic principal of this photo can still be translated. The biggest thing to take away from this is to choose a unifying color palette and pattern and carry it through the entire event.

From Country Living

Being a country native and someone who has attended and helped execute many a hay ride in my day, I LOVE this idea! The set up looks pretty basic - but I would suggest a blanket over those hay bales when it's actually time to sit - no one wants those sticking their backside!

P.S. Many thanks to Jon for showing me how to create links within my posts so I don't have to copy & paste the web addresses any more! I'm SO tech challenged - I never would have figured that out on my own!