Behind the scenes of my 40th birthday!

This past weekend my friends and family came together and celebrated my 40th birthday. While my husband and best friend hosted the party, they allowed me to help with the design and decorating process. This might have been the best gift, being able to design a party the way I wanted it, with all of the details and elements I love!

I chose the theme "Upgrading to 4.0", for two reason...one technology has really helped me grow as an artist over the past 4 years. Second, it sounds much better to upgrade then to just get old!

My absolute favorite color is green, apple green and lime green to be exact. I also love bold black and white stripes right now, so the combination of the two were a must! Even though I am not a total girlie girl, I wanted a touch of bling. I had Carmen from The Flair Exchange create a tassel garland for the party and it was one of my absolute favorite decorations!! I can't wait to show you as I am completely hooked on these now!!

I created a few sketches for Dawn and I to play with. The sketches also helped my cake artist, Renee of Astonishing Cakes to know what I wanted. One of my biggest requests was a HUGE cake, even if most of it was fake, I wanted it to be BIG!! 

Be sure to stop in next week as I will be sharing all of the details of the party including photos! This was truly the best birthday party I have ever had!!

Balloon Bomber Bash {Real Parties}

Hard to believe all three of my summer birthday parties are now over and done with. This past weekend we celebrated our son, Corbin's 12th birthday with a party we called the "Balloon Bomber Bash". Corbin wanted to once again create his own unique party theme (last year was his Mustache Bash party) and combined WWII bombers with a water balloon fight.  Here are some of the photos from the party...

I first created a "logo" for the party which is a WWII style bomber plain with water balloon dropping from it, instead of bombs. I used a blue camouflage pattern to make cupcake & bottle wrappers to go with the theme (per Corbin's request).

The birthday boy, loading up with a stash of water balloons and already soaked. 

With it being 90+ degrees, he didn't mind at all! 

Since we held the party after dinner hours I served up cake balls, cupcakes and popcorn. 

The kids loved the combo of sweet and salty. 

They also went through all of water after running around for 2 hours in the sun. 

I used my "Balloon Bomber Bash" logo to make iron ons for t-shirts. Each guest received a t-shirt when they arrived to change into. They loved the t-shirts and it was nice to have dry shirts to put on when they left the party. The t-shirts, a water frisbee and ball set were given as party favors. 

Both my husband and I REALLY enjoyed this party and both realized how much less stressful it was to host this party at the park. The kids could run around, scream, throw water balloons at each other and we didn't have to worry about anything getting messed up or damaged. HOORAY for a stress free party for tweens!! I am ready to do this party every year and think it is a great end of the summer get together idea. The time and energy to fill up 300 water balloons was TOTALLY worth it!! 

The break down of this party for 6 guests + our family of 5:

Food & drinks: $15
I made homemade cupcakes as well as the cake balls, bought one bag of popcorn and a case of water.

Favors: $37.05
I found a water frisbee with ball set at Target in the dollar spot. For the t-shirts I picked up Men's undershirts which were 5 for $10. The iron ons from Staples. (t-shirts ended up being $3.45 each)

Activity: $3 
Water balloons were found in the Target dollar spot as well.

Decorations: $43
I purchased the awesome blue camouflaged digital paper file from Gedget Designs on Etsy for only $2.50. You can find cupcake wrapper templates on line and measure out your own water bottle labels easily for an inexpensive DIY.  I added the price I charge in my shop for my finished cupcake toppers and popcorn boxes to this line item as well.

Venue: FREE (local park)

TOTAL: $98.05


Another party for under $100...SUCCESS!!

Thanks for stopping by today. I am actually going to take the rest of the week off from the blog for some family time. I have 3 schools to register kids at this week, plus GREAT NEWS...my DH had an interview on Monday and another in the next few days (the first since he was laid off in February).  Hopefully we will be celebrating a new job in the next few weeks! Fingers crossed!!

Have a wonderful rest of your week and weekend friends!!
Hugs,
Pam

"The Cake Is A Lie" Party {Real Party}

As I explained earlier our son who is 14 wanted a Portal (video game) themed party this year. Not an easy task as their aren't "party decorations" of any kind for this theme. SO everything was done from scratch! My husband chipped in by creating the t-shirt images, which I in turn used pieces of to create labels for the other party items. Without further ado...the party picts!

Since most of the video game takes place in a warehouse, I thought shelving and a brick background made for a more industrial feel. 

Since we are still living with my parents, we had the party at the park. Turned out to be a great idea so the kids could run around and drop "Propulsion Gel" everywhere! LOL

These are my Pedal boxes, which I found out work PERFECT for cake pops!! I placed a cupcake liner in the bottom of each box and set a cake pop inside. When the lid closes it allows for the stick to poke out. BRILLIANT! ALL of the adults loved taking this favor home with them. 

The fun "Candy Tubes" from Fancy That were perfect for holding orange Skittles. Yes we picked through a one pound bag just to get all of the orange ones out. 

 I found these awesome blue bottom, clear topped balls at Party City for only .99 each. The are like the plastic balls you get prices in from those gumball machines. We made t-shirts for each of the kids and put them inside these balls as party favors. Great idea for teens, since the small trinket stuff just doesn't go over well. You know...too cool for that kid stuff! LOL

Here are the cake pops all boxes up and ready to hand out at the end of the party. 

I made "Propulsion Gel" AKA Flubber. Here is the recipe, which was super easy and made just enough for 8 Glad containers full. EVERYONE even the adults had fun playing with this goo!

Repulsion Gel AKA Mountain Berry Powerade. 

Last but not least, my birthday boy with "GladO's Cake". The cake you are promised at the end of your mission in the game is a Black Forest cake, but since Ty isn't a big fan of cherries I made a three layer chocolate cake and decorated it to look like the cake in the game. I think he really liked it. 

Now onto planning birthday number 2 of the summer....Aly's surprise party!

Thanks for stopping in!
Hugs,
Pam


Flubber Recipe on Food.com

Party Sneak Peek

Over the weekend we celebrated our son's 14th birthday. In case you missed it, he wanted a Portal  themed party (video game)...needless to say...not easy. This is a description of the game as told by the makers, Valve.

Welcome to Aperture Laboratories

The highly anticipated sequel to 2007's Game of the Year, Portal 2 is a hilariously mind-bending adventure that challenges you to use wits over weaponry in a funhouse of diabolical science.

Using a highly experimental portal device, you’ll once again face off against a lethally inventive, power-mad A.I. named GLaDOS. And this time you won’t be alone. Meet an expanded cast of characters as you think your way through dangerous, never-before-seen areas of Aperture Laboratories.

Break the laws of spatial physics in ways you never thought possible, with a wider variety of portal puzzles and an expansive story that spans a single player and co-operative game mode.

 Here are some of the photos I took inspiration from.

The Cake 

For a time in the Aperture Science computer-aided Enrichment Center, Black Forest cake was used as a motivational object for Test Subjects utilizing the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. After GLaDOS' takeover in May 200- however, she incinerates Test Subjects after the completion of tests, negating the need for the cake as a reward, but still uses it to motivate Test Subjects.

The Gel 

 Blue Repulsion Gel to jump higher, the orange Propulsion Gel to run faster, or the white Conversion Gel to allow any surface to accept a portal.

Companion Cube

The Weighted Storage Cube is a device used for solving cube-and-button based puzzles in the various Test Chambers found throughout the Enrichment Center.

Here is a sneak peek of what I created for the party...

details tomorrow....tee hee

In the Land of Sweets

When I was creating my new "Land of Sweets" party collection I was dreaming up all kinds of ways to set up a display in order to get some fun photos. Then one day while talking with a friend I found out about a local candy store that also offers birthday party packages. Immediately I knew I had to talk with the owner and find out if it would be possible for me to shoot my "Land of Sweets" party amongst all of her jars of candy. Lola the owner of Lola's Sugar Rush, was as sweet as can be and welcomed me and my camera into her shop.

Welcome to Party Starters' "Land of Sweets"

Popcorn boxes

Mini Bunting

Favor Cake Set

Favor Cake Set

Cupcake Toppers

Land of Sweets

Land of Sweets

Land of Sweets

Favor Tags

Favor Tags

Popcorn Box

Invitation or Note card

Mini Bunting & Popcorn Boxes

Mini Bunting & Popcorn Boxes

Want some fun Candyland themed inspiration to go along with this collection. I have started a board on Pinterest with lots of fun pictures HERE.  I have also posted a easy tutorial over at MG Party Impressions that matches this collection. A simple way to create a tic tac toe board and pieces, makes an easy party favor for guests.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Pam

*You can find all of these finished products HERE
Candyland Mega Kit (artwork) by MyGrafico.com

Party Ideas 4 My Kids {Whats' New Wednesday}

It is getting to be that time again...time to start planning our kids parties for the summer. June, July and August...one party for each month. I am really having a hard time with my oldest son, Ty who is 14, wants a Portal party...ummm yeah...a what? A video game called Portal, this is going to be a major challenge! So while I am still trying to figure out how the heck to grasp some kind of direction for this party I am cheating and moving on to party number two.

From sweetapolita.com
Perfect for an Art themed Party! 

Aly who is 6 wants a surprise party...OK a surprise theme. So I have decided to run with an "Art Party". This little girl of mine goes through notebooks like water, filling them with all kinds of creative drawings and painting. She constantly has ink stained little fingers from markers. What better way to celebrate her 6th year and love for creating then with an art themed party.

I turned to my new best friend, Pinterest for inspiration. I have started a board with art party inspiration and these are a couple of the photos I have included.

Image found on www.Ohdeedoh.com
(Images: 1. Flickr member FrankenberrysKiss licensed for use under Creative Commons 2.Heather Hackett/Lilac Silhouette 3. Sarah Rae Trover/Ohdeedoh 4. Tiffany Teske)

What I love about pinterest is when you click on the photo it takes you to it's place of origin (most of the time). This really helps when you find a great photo like this and need all of the details as well. So this image collage is from www.Ohdeedoh.com and they give all of the links to places they have found with recipes for each of these homemade items. Crayons, Playdough, Water colors, and chalk. Each of these items will make not only fabulous activities for an art party, but also fabulous party favors! I seriously can't wait to get started on this party.

Feel free to check out the other photos and ideas I have pinned on my Art Inspiration board. If you by chance have heard of the game Portal then by all means, please send me some ideas for a Portal 2 party!!  LOL

Have a super day!
Hugs,
Pam