On Trend: Birthday Party Themes based on Children's Books

Being someone who loves books, who is an ex-teacher and who is an ex-English major, I love to see all the children's birthday party themes based on classic literature and popular kids' books.  I thought I'd share a little inspiration from this trend today.  Maybe you will get your next party idea from this post!  I drew most of my examples from two of my favorite sites:  Pizzazerie and Hostess with the Mostess.  Add them to your blog reading list if they aren't already there--they are great party resources!

Goodnight Moon is one of my son's favorite bedtime books.  This Goodnight Moon party is darling--tables that are set like a bed--so creative! 


Where the Wild Things Are is a children's classic.  This is a modern twist on the book.

Here is another link to the same themed party, but with a different feel.


Peter Rabbit . . .


Little Red Riding Hood . . .


Alice in Wonderland . . .

and this Alice party . . .

and this Alice party too . . .


One of my favorite themes:  The Wizard of Oz . . .


Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . . .


Goldilocks and the Three Bears . . .


Curious George . . .


The Very Hungry Catepillar . . .


Now go have fun!  Pick your child's favorite book or story and run with the theme at your next kid's birthday party!

Friday Favorites: September 16, 2011

Well, our big ministry kick off was a success last night!  We had about 240 adults there to enjoy our fun opening night.  I'll do a post this upcoming week with pics of the room and maybe even upload a couple funny videos if I can figure that out!

I spied the first pumpkins at the grocery store this week!  I had fun teaching Micah the word "pumpkin"--he is my little speech articulation delay buddy.  Micah liked the "unkins"  too.  So, because the pumpkins are out and because I LOVE fall, I'll share some fall favorites starting today!

Enjoy this week's fun ideas!

Parents Magazine had a great idea of a Give Thanks calendar leading up to Thanksgiving.  We do a thanks "tree" on leaves each year, but this is a cute idea too.  I love choices!



Serenity Now shared a link to a prayer board idea.  Now those prayer requests you should be remembering are written down and on your mind throughout the day.  We do family prayer requests with the kids once a week and pray for them every day.  This would be a great way to record them.



Simple and Handmade made some beautiful, simple necklaces.  I love the origami inspired ones.





Dress Art Form on Etsy made a beautiful wool jacket dress (I would use it as a jacket!).  It is handmade and customized for only 99 dollars! SO pretty!




Now for some yummy fall inspired food!  Chica and Jo shared a yummy recipe of pumpkin pie stuffed french toast.



Taste of Home made a caramel apple trifle.  YUM!



That's So Michelle made Apple Cider Floats (a recipe from Rachel Rae).  Think hot apple cider with vanilla ice cream, nutmeg and a cinnamon stir stick.



Pennies on a Platter shared pumpkin ice cream/snickerdoodle cookie sandwiches.  I am in serious love with pumpkin ice cream.



Now let's talk about decorated pumpkins.  We don't do "Halloween" at our house, but we do fall and harvest.  I love the monogramed, numbered or written on pumpkins.  Here are some ideas.


Dollar Store Crafts shared a way to monogram a pumpkin with black thumb tacks.



Marsh Madness shared some beautiful fall decorations, but I especially love the address on the pumpkins.  Stacked, they are simply beautiful!




Loving Every Moment shared pumpkin ideas from all over.  The pictures are not linked, so I'm not sure who created the beautifully vinyled "Welcome Friends" pumpkin, but I love it.






Twig and Thistle, in cooperation with Better Homes and Gardens, showed some beautiful gold and black harvest decor.  This spray painted pumpkin is a golden idea for the house address.



Brown Paper Packages used scrapbook paper, mod podge and pumpkins to monogram decorations for the porch.  Fun!  I was thinking even the decorated tape might produce this look!


Enjoy your weekend!

Thinking about an Etsy Business

I've been a stay at home mom for almost 6 years, but for the first time, I'm thinking about opening an Etsy shop.  My husband lost his job this summer, but, honestly, it isn't related to that timing that made me think of this opportunity.  We are fairly hopeful he'll have a job soon.  More, it had to do with life--many of my friends are starting to do little part time work at home or in the job world, and my oldest just started Kindergarten.  Next year my youngest will be in preschool, and I will actually have time alone when there are no kids at home!

As you can tell from my blog name, I love parties and creativity.  I love to bake and cook, I love decorating, I love writing, I love art and drawing, and these can all form a nice marriage when you are planning a theme party.  My favorite part of party planning is picking a theme and weaving it across the party into decorations, games, food, etc.  I started liking party decoration businesses on Facebook pages, and I came to realize I really enjoyed all the creativity and it was something I would do well.  I'm not a printable party person--I want texture on my decorations and handmade details that make it look unique and special.  In addition, I want my designs to be cute, but modern and contemporary.

I am thinking about just starting with basics--having a few themes for parties and selling some main handmade decorations--banners in the theme, a birthday hat in the theme for the guest of honor, cupcake picks, cupcake sleeves, goodie bag tags, table banners, etc.  I might also make custom order vertical photo banners made to the desired theme--these add such personality and big impact to a party. 

Of course, it isn't as easy as just starting the business.  I am researching graphics for the shop, looking up places to print business cards, figuring out shipping costs/methods, thinking of cute packaging, buying a Silhouette for die cuts and easy letter graphics (the new Silhouettes aren't available until October), etc.  I'm hoping to get this going by the end of October.

It's a little scary too.

Am I ready to face failure or the demand of the shop if it succeeds?  I won't know unless I try.  I'm praying about it, planning, and getting excited. 

I'll keep you all updated as the shop progresses and when it will open.

If you have ever considered an Etsy business shop, share your thoughts!  Here is a quick, easy read to get you started on planning:  http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/the-quick-start-guide-to-selling-on-etsy/.

I apologize that I haven't posted as many crafts lately.  Between ministry planning, family needs, shop planning and school starting, life hasn't allowed as much time for crafting random things.  I am looking forward to a December wedding for my sister in law and the fall holidays coming, and I can't wait to share these things with you too!  I have a lot of joy in my heart concerning the things to come!

Friday Favorites: 9-9-11

Happy Friday, everyone!  Our week was great but a bit crazy--school started for my little kindergartener, my sister in law got engaged, we lost our electricity for a few hours along with the rest of southern California, and we are gearing up for our marriage ministry at church to start up again next week after a summer off from weekly meetings. September is always chalk full of fun! 

Enjoy some of the fun ideas and recipes I came across this week!  Have a great, creative and fruitful week, everyone!

The Do It Yourself Divas gave us a recipe for homemade Mod Podge.  This stuff is really pricey at the craft stores, so this is a great idea! 



The Modest Maven made the cutest boy bibs.  These look so easy!  You can buy the premade bibs and decorate with a little tie and collar (I use heat transfer fabric since I don't sew a lot).  What a cute idea for those baby boys!



Makes and Takes made a wipe off/write on board from a simple frame and scrapbook paper.  This is a really affordable and useful idea!  Get an old frame with gladd, add any paper that coordinates with your decor, get an Expo marker, and you are ready to go!



Style Me Pretty used this cute idea for a wedding, but this would be great at a brunch or dessert get together.  Put coffee in cute cups and then add a long stir stick with a donut hole skewered to the top.  I love food styling ideas like this--so fun!



Do you have a love for hanging decorations?  I do!  Whenever I see paper lantern decorations, I am a happy girl.  They can be traditionally grouped together on a patio or ceiling, but sometimes a fun idea comes along that is entirely outside the box.  This wedding in Laguna Beach was featured on theknot.com, and I loved the colors!



I had to share this idea from Share and Remember because my son talks about paint toast all the time.  He did this in preschool, and I had no idea what he was saying.  I thought maybe they put butter on the toast and called it "painting."  Now I know what he was saying--he is super excited to do this at home too!



Speaking of toast, I thought I'd go with a breakfast theme for recipes this week.  I love breakfast and brunches.  These recipes look delicious, so be ready to click and save them to your computer!

The Domestic Momma and Village Cook took mini muffin tins and made hashbrown baskets with eggs, cheese and bacon.  This is serious breakfast deliciousness!



Gimme Some Oven made a twist on this "Idaho Sunrise" breakfast dish too.  This includes baked potato shells filled with baked eggs and bacon.  What a great idea!



Macheesmo made a spin on the Egg Mc Muffin.  You could send your little one off to school with lots of protein and a full tummy with this fun breakfast.



The Gourmet Traveller shared delectable bacon hashbrowns.  The picture sells it!



Of course, what recipe list would be complete without the Pioneer Woman.  I love her.  This recipe for Monkey Bread is SO simple and involves NO mixing.  Seriously, if you don't cook, you can impress your friends with these.  My boys would obey me all day if I made these--after the sugar high wore off.

First Day of Kindergarten

I did a great job!  No tears!  You would think today was all about me, but it was my oldest son's first day of kindergarten.  We packed up his backpack, snack/lunch and sent him to school.  Here are some pictures of the morning!

His sweet teacher--this picture shows the nerves he was feeling.

Little brother wanted to wear his backpack this morning too.

Such a big boy!

Micah was a little jealous this morning.  He wanted his picture taken too.

And so it begins . . .

We are praying for a great year and some great, godly friends for Carter.  He is going to LOVE kindergarten.

Friday Favorites: September 2nd, 2011

September has officially started, so I can break out some fall ideas.  (I know fall isn't official until the last week of September, but that is okay).  I am accumulating and saving all the cute pumpkin, fall ideas for a week or two more, but, since school is starting, let's talk about apples!

When I taught, apples were the theme of my room for September.  We did a fall sensory poem, apple stamping (see an example of apple stamping here), hanging apple core art listing adjectives describing apples (see similar apple art with expository apple paragraphs here), and apple math and estimation.  If you homeschool or want to do some fun activities at home, these are all really easy ideas.

 Here is the idea of the sensory poem/language activity (uses similes).  You can use this poem for any topic and it can be scaffolded for different levels and developmental stages:

Apples
Apples sound like _______ (example: crunching leaves or my brother munching)
Apples smell like __________ (examples:  cinnamon and sugar or grandma's pie)
Apples taste like ___________ (examples:  fresh applesauce or Thanksgiving or sweet)
Apples look like ______________ (examples:  My teacher's desk, a beautiful orchard, a shiny, red ruby)
Apples feel like ______________ (examples:  smooth skin or a ball)
Apples

To stamp with apples, cut the apples into any shape (even just in half) and use tempura paint to "stamp" on art paper with the apples.

Make applesauce together and have your kids help you with measurement math.  Talk about solids (apple)and liquids (sauce) and gas (steam) to bring in science.  You can talk about taste buds, botany (apple trees), etc.  Estimate the number of seeds your child will find in the apple before you cut it open.  Chart which type of apple each person likes best. Read the story of Johnny Appleseed and study American folklore and history. Thematic teaching ideas are open to almost anything.  Have fun!

Here are some great APPLE ideas I found while browsing the blog world this week!  Enjoy!

Cute Food for Kids had a fun way to give your kiddos an apple snack.  A pretzel stick would be a really cute addition as the umbrella handle. 



Apples can be creative party decorations for a fall baby/wedding shower.
Snippet and Ink shared a school themed wedding where the apples were made into garlands.  So clever!


I wish I knew where this cute idea originated, but the Pinterest link flips to the sign in for Google each time.  If you happen to know, please leave the info for all of us in the comments.  I love the easy idea of apple vases as centerpieces or at each place setting.



Project Wedding shared beautiful photos of apples being used as place cards.  This could be used in a farm themed birthday party, a fall inspired celebration shower, or a fall wedding.  Gorgeous!


Matthew Mead Style made beautiful apple tea light candles.  This is so easy and so beautiful.  I am guessing the apple scent is wonderful too.




Then, of course, there are the wonderful recipes that come with autumn's apple crop.
Gimme Some Oven has a ton of apple recipes in the archives, but I especially loved this simple idea of serving hot apple cider in apple "cups."  What a fun spin for dessert time at a fall dinner party.



If you need a cider recipe to fill those apple mugs, what about caramel apple cider?  Yum!  Our Best Bites is a GREAT creative site that shared a recipe for this.



Atlantis Home made brie, apple and arugula quesadillas.  Doesn't that sound fancy?  It sounds like a really delicious appetizer too!



Eat, Live, Run shared a beautiful apple braid recipe.  Honestly, when it is broken down in steps, it doesn't look hard to make at all.  Wouldn't this be a fun treat to bake with the kiddos on a cold, crisp autumn day?



Leave it up to Williams Sonoma to come up with apple "sandwiches."  Filled with peanut butter, raisins and granola, these apple snacks are healthy and protein packed!



Snack Girl shared an easy recipe for cinnamon, sugar dried apple crisps.



Smitten Kitchen takes apples into breakfast with fluffy apple pancakes.  This would be gobbled up in a second in my house!



Almost Bourdain made apple beignets.  You get to decide if these are breakfast or dessert.



Finally, the Kitchn.com gives us a whole post of apple recipes:  caramel apples; tuna, arugula and apple sandwiches; oven baked apple donuts; apple sauce, apple and potato fritters with sour cream and herb dipping sauce; and chocolate cake with apples and hazelnuts.


Happy fall soon, everyone!  Doesn't it look beautiful and delicious?