Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 17}

 What a crazy week, busy busy and full of surprises! First I am helping out with my daughter's Kindergarten Halloween party at school at the end of this week. I told the Mom's in charge that I would love to help out with a craft.  I told them that I probably have all of the supplies on hand anyway, so no need to worry about it, I would take care of the homemade paper picture frames.  They both insisted that I hand out my business cards to all of the kids and that they would pay for the supplies. UM...NO and NO! I am not doing this to pimp myself nor do I need to be reimbursed for the 9 whole pieces of card stock that I will be using. First...I am doing this for my daughter, second I feel it is kind of tacky to be pushing my business cards. If the teacher wants to write up a thank you for me donating the supplies that is one thing, but I would really feel awkward pushing my cards on people.  I know these Mom's are just being supportive which I totally appreciate, but I do wish they would understand this is for my baby and me being there is to make her happy. Is that lame of me??

So the busy busy part...lots of wedding shower and wedding reception projects this week. Both of these projects shown are for couples who are having destination weddings. The banner was to have a beachy feel, so I used some very glittery sand dollars and starfish along with raffia.  This will match the wedding shower decorations that will be on each table.

The next items are for a wedding in Jamaica. I used some gorgeous metallic cardstock to cut out the cake slice shaped favor boxes then hand stamped and heat embossed each box. Very time consuming, but oh so gorgeous and worth every minute! The Bride sent me a note and loves them!

Also this week I am getting ready to do another photo shoot with some of my fellow party girls. This time for the Winter Holidays! We have 4 different themes, which means 4 different displays. I can't wait to create, style, take photos and share them with all of you!! Photos will be ready on Nov. 1st so stay tuned for those.

http://icanhascheezburger.com/

 Now the surprise....funny story, I have my Cupcakes & Cocktails party planned for Nov 13th. OK, I should say HAD it planned for that day. My darling husband wanted to surprise me and bought a plane ticket for me to go to Iowa to visit my extended family. I haven't been back in 3 years and I have been wanting to go back SO bad!! My Grandparents are 87 and 88 years old and it breaks my heart to tell my Grams that I would love to see her, not knowing when I can make it happen. WELL Al conspired with my cousin, Jody and the two of them got a kicking deal on a ticket, which Al bought right away without looking at the calendar. It just so happens that I will now be gone when I had planned my party. After purchasing the ticket Al realizes what he did and of course can't change the dates without fees. SO he tries to be sneaky and makes up a story about work and that he will be gone and I should cancel my party. Of course I am like why would I do that...I could have my Mom watch the kids...blah blah blah. Now he is in panic mode trying to figure out how to get me to cancel my party without telling me, which he can't so he tells me the surprise!  I start balling like a baby, because hello how sweet of him. The best birthday present for me ever!! The party was easy enough to reschedule for a week later and it just prolongs the celebrating! I am one HAPPY girl!! Now I can look forward to seeing my Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and cousins!! OH and my cousin Jody, her and I are like twins. We are the only granddaughters on my Dad's side of the family and we are only 3 weeks apart in age. I always have the best time and the best stories of being with her! I SO can't wait for this trip!!!

Speaking of my party...I have two hot little entries for my "Create My Party" contest in my hand and WOW am I impressed!! I will be featuring these party proposals tomorrow and Tuesday, so keep an eye out for them!! SO excited!! If you haven't started, you still have time to plan...ONE more week!!! SO get your party planning thinking cap on and show me what you've got!! Inspire me by Creating My Party!! 

Alrighty, its time for me to run. I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend!
Hugs,
Pam

Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 16}

Hello October....wait a second ***insert the sound of tires schreeching*** how the heck is it October and HELLO...the leaves are changing!! I really shouldn't complain, it has been in the low 80's for the past few weeks which has been a blessing for sure. Its so nice that we can walk down to the park without having to wear jackets. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this weather will hold out for a few more weeks though. I am not ready to give up my flip flops just yet.

Being that is has been so nice we took advantage of the beautiful weather today, mid to low 70's and went to the park this afternoon with my camera. I wanted to get some new pictures of the kids and had my fingers crossed that I would get one of Al and myself.

I am thinking these might just be in our Christmas cards this year.*Sigh* Christmas cards...guess I need to start thinking about designing those soon...yikes!

Speaking of designing, I really need to cut this entry short, work calls. Trying to keep ahead of the game, because I have a feeling things will be picking up again this coming week. Another calm before the storm kind of thing.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend! Thanks so much for stopping by.
Hugs,
Pam

Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 15}

Shhhh....don't tell anyone that I am blogging today. I told my husband that my plan this weekend was to tend to the house, which by the way isn't speaking to me, and get some major Fall cleaning done. Friday when I knew I didn't have a lot going on Party Starters wise this weekend, I was actually day dreaming about my plan of attack and how much I would be able to get done around the house.

WELL...after we took the kids to see Legend of the Guardians Friday night, I got sick and ended up going to be early and sleeping in until 10:30 AM Saturday morning. That shot my plans of getting started early and being motivated! Al took us to brunch, which of course I didn't complain about one bit, but there went another 2 hours from my plan. Lets just say I got two rooms cleaned...not as much as I wanted, but it is something.

This morning, I did a bit of PS work (ssshhh don't tell), but decided to take a swing at my cleaning again...almost two hours later...my bathroom is clean...I mean clean clean and its not a small bathroom either!! Now the desire to clean, well that is shot to Hell, pardon my French! While I still have at least 3 more rooms that need attention...I am now day dreaming of making Party Starters the biggest most well known custom favor, decorations and invitation business on the earth! WHY...so I can outsource my cleaning chores HA! While I am at it, how about a personal chef!! What...I can dream big right!!

Anyway, back to the movie (yes I am a movie critic too) I personally thought it was beautiful as far as details went. The story line was rather bland, but my 5 year old enjoyed it. As for my boys who are 11 & 13 and have both been reading the books that the movie is based on, well they were bored. They were really upset at how different the movies story was compared to the books. Well what can ya do?? $60 in  movie tickets alone... at least the 5 year old dug it!

Guess I should scoot...still have a lot to get done today. Planning on making a nice dinner along with Al's favorite dessert, peach cobbler, as a surprise.

See you all tomorrow when I start sharing fun Halloween treats for kids!
Hugs,
Pam


*photo courtesy of TKM Commercial Cleaning

Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 15}

What an amazing week! Kids are finally getting the school groove down which is awesome! I felt a bit more energized after taking the prior week off from blogging although things haven't slowed down. I managed to get my Mini Cupcake Favor Box announced this week, which I am in love with by the way...hope that doesn't sound conceited. OH and they are now for sale in my Etsy Shop...just waiting for you to order!! tee hee!!


I worked on and got a TON of orders out. I have been booked now for over a month...first time EVER and love it! Doesn't look like things are slowing down either, which is fabulous!

Some fun news this week (feel like I am bragging...geesh I'm not...just really excited) I was contacted by Off The Wall Gifts who are putting together bags for the 31st Annual Emmys. They wanted to put Party Starters' mini scalloped cake slices in 700 swag bags which would be given out to Emmy guests. OF course I wanted to be able to say yes, but I am a one woman show and for one, I can't push my customers aside to make room for the Emmys (well I could if I recruited help and didn't sleep WHICH I would do), second it just wasn't in my budget. They said they will keep me in mind for other celebrity events so, maybe next time!

Next...get ready Spain, here comes Party Starters! The Jewel Cake Company has a party shop located in Madrid and have ordered several of my favor collections and announcements. I couldn't be more thrilled!! SO for all of my Spain followers you will now be able to purchase my products locally!

OH yes the fun doesn't stop there folks, there is one more bit of exciting news, but I can't share it just yet...soon though! It has to do with Martha...oops...did I say too much...I don't want to jinx it!

Such a wonderful week and you know what I am most thankful for...my Family of course. My husband is my number one fan and is always SO extremely supportive. I love how my kids get excited about the work I do and are proud of me when fun and exciting things happen. I am also thankful for such wonderful friends, old and new near and far. I consider my readers, my FB and Twitter followers my friends as well. I am extremely grateful this week for a couple of friends who have gone out of their way to sweeten up my life.  Dawn who I have known for gosh...8 years now puts up with my extremely particular attitude about Party Starters! I can't help it...I am a bit OCD about the way my product looks.  Dawn helps me out every now and then with big orders, like today! Thanks Dawn!!

Then there is my friend Kathia from Pink Little Cake. Kathia and I have never actually met. We started following each other's blogs maybe 9 months ago or so. I am telling you the blogging world is an amazing place and I have been so blessed to make wonderful friends because of the internet. Anyway, Kathia surprised me with an absolutely adorable box full of cookies yesterday that she made and shipped to me from NJ. I LOVE surprises and this one got me...yes I teared up over the gesture...THANK YOU Kathia!!! Aren't these absolutely adorable!! They smell amazing and I may just have one right now for breakfast!

Cookies by My Pink Little Cake

Well lots of fun events coming this week, my blogging friend Danielle will be celebrating the launch of Lucky Life Parties. Danielle has created amazing kits for those you want step by step party planning guides, whether its for a baby shower or a simply dinner party for 8. I received one of these kits and OMG she has thought of everything...from the invitations to the menu and shopping list gosh and so much more!!! I will be giving away one of her kits this week so look forward to that post tomorrow! I will also be her guest blogger tomorrow where you will have a chance to win a set of 8 my Mini Cupcake Favor Boxes!! SO keep an eye out for that over at Danielle's blog as well as all of her other fun prizes and guests this week!!

OK I gotta run...orders to fill!!! Have an amazing rest of your weekend friends!
Hugs,
Pam

Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 14}

SIGH...

OK when I said two weeks ago that I was experiencing the calm before the storm, I had no idea that the storm would be a hurricane! Oh my goodness Party Starters is going crazy!! I love it, but it is definitely a challenge, especially with the first week back to school for the kids. I feel like I have apologized to Al so much that the word "Sorry" doesn't have a meaning anymore. I am just struggling with wearing so many hats! I grab stuff at the store, but forget what it was that I actually went for. A bunch of little things that I tell my family that I will do and completely space it. I feel incredibly guilty that my family is what I move aside in order to get other things done. That is where I am struggling most. I have an extremely hard time letting people down, especially the ones I love.
Of course when life is crazy like this I start to question myself, am I taking Party Starters in the right direction? Should I explore another avenue of the party world? I really don't know at this point, I really want to find a balance. Unfortunately the work I do is all labor, so there is no way to short cut it, unless I hire someone to help me, which I have thought about. I know all of these thoughts and feeling are just a result of the hurricane that is running its course and in a week or so I will be fine again. Maybe I just need to relax and ride the wave for a bit, and do a lot of thinking along the way.



Thanks for listening..err..reading. Thought I would share this video as the song seems so fitting right now.

Hugs,
Pam

Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 13}

Corbin loving his T-Shirt

Hi All,
Another calm before the storm kind of week. Which was great since I needed to prepare everything for Corbin's birthday the "Mustache Bash".
 
I must slip in here that the response to my "My NY Experience" was amazing!! I loved reading all of your comments. I am glad that my "dork-ism" cracks you all up...what can I say, that is me..a dork! 

Tyler sporting his green t-shirt

This week also included registering kids for school and thinking about getting all of those back to school supplies. UGH...I love shopping, but seriously the whole back to school supply shopping thing...so not for me!! The bargain shopper in me wants to hit every sale there is, but seriously the gas money I spend going around to 5 different stores...thinking its not worth it. I am seriously dreading this. On the other hand I am SO looking forward to the last year of Elementary for Corbin. He is a 6th grader this year, a big school year filled with lots of fun activities. 6th grade was one of my favorites!! Plus Corbin's new teacher is Fabulous and I am SO ready for him to have fun!! Aly starts kindergarten which she is more then ready for. Tyler will be starting 8th grade, last year in middle school, how did he grow up so fast. OH and did I mention... next year, three kiddos in three different schools...sigh! That should be interesting!!

Aly and her Mustache Straw

So...the MUSTACHE BASH, was a hit. Everyone had a blast and loved the theme. Jen from Blush Printables created the images I used for the party and I ABSOLUTELY adore them!! I got Jen's permission to make t-shirts with these images for my family. Hence the photo of us all with our Mustache Bash t-shirts. I still need to go through ALL of the photos I took yesterday and pick out which ones to post this week. For now you can check out these humorous photos of our family...seriously I don't know if we will ever get a good family photo without some one making a face, blinking or looking away. I am throwing in a few pictures of the fun ones I took of family in their "mustache disguises" as well.

Family picture take 5

Family picture take 17 (had to add the dog)

 

Anyway, more Mustache Bash pictures coming soon! Have a wonderful rest of your weekend.
Hugs,
Pam

"My NY Experience" part 3 "Am I a Stalker?"

On Saturday I posted about getting to and what happened when I got to New York.  Monday I posted about my Martha experience.

Today the finale...."Am I A Stalker?"

From L to R Me, Kate, Danielle & Brandi

After meeting the inspiring Martha Stewart team I was finally able to meet my fellow bloggers whom I adore so much. The Party Blogosphere is such a fun place, yes most of us are competitors, but we are also online friends. We like to see each other succeed and life just can't get any better then that! I was able to chat with Danielle from A Few Of My Favorite Things, Kristy from Posh Pixels, Tanya from Save The Date For Cupcakes, Melissa and Jon from from Celebrations, Alison from Sassy Mom In The City gosh and the list goes on, I apologize if I missed your name here on the list. Now one blogger stood out for me, from the moment I received her very first email months ago telling me she admired my work I knew we would be friends. Kate Landers is an absolute doll! I walked up to introduce myself without need to because she grabbed me and gave me a hug. It is also so refreshing when the way you picture someone in your head,  is exactly how they are in real life. I adore you Kate! 

Seriously just when the night couldn't get any better, there she was...Amy Atlas, the "Queen of Dessert Tables"! This is the woman who has inspired me to look at tablescapes in a whole new way. While Amy talked with another guest I waited patiently trying to figure out what it was that I was going to say...OH CRAP...my mind went blank...who was I again??? Once again I was star struck, which means my inner dork came to the surface...GREAT! As I introduced myself Amy told me how she loved my cake boxes and that she had hoped by featuring them on her blog back in December I might have gotten some traffic to my site. (Of course I did) We chatted for a little while and WOW what a sweet, charming person Amy is. I of course adore her even more!! Now for some reason even after meeting Amy my inner dork decided to hang around. I ran off to tell my blogging friends that Amy was here and of course they were excited as well. When I passed by Amy once again in the hall I started to take a candid photo of her. After the first picture snapped I dropped my camera to my side and thought...OMG  am a stalker or what! HELLO could I be anymore annoying? I seriously felt like the paparazzi and decided to tell me inner dork to shove it! Sorry Amy! :)

As I left the party I as given two swag bags. One filled with MS magazines, a set of craft punches, stationary, a sample can of the new MS paint & MS dish soap. The second bag was from Kraft, so it was a little odd. A bag of Mac-N-Cheese, a bottle of Miracle Whip and a box of fudge Oreos.
I headed up to my room where my feet had had enough. I soaked them in the tub for a few while I called Al and rambled for probably what he thought was for-ev-er! I talked to each of my kids, my boys said they were proud of me and Aly was of course thrilled at the news of her pipe cleaner ring that was on its way to her. "Oh Mommy, that was my favorite thing Martha makes".
I crashed before 11:30pm and had to wake up too early in order to get back to the airport again. while I would have loved to have stayed longers and visit all of the sites, those are things I want to share with my family. Plus I was "sent" by friends and family to see Martha and that is what I did.
An amazing, sleepless, painful (my blistered feet still aren't talking to me), self motivating experience. One that I will never forget!!

After sitting on a plane and in an airport and on a plane again (total of 8 hours) I was finally home with my family. Al took us out to dinner for Mongolian BBQ and this is what my fortune cookie's note said...

I choose BOTH and I think I will frame this photo as a reminder of "My 1st NY Experience"!

Thanks so much for reading along. If for some reason you haven't had enough of me, please hop on over to Oh My Gluestick's blog where I have started my Tuesday guest blogging series today. 

Have a great day!
Hugs,
Pam

Meeting Martha~ Part Two of "My NY Experience"

Glass Door Entering Offices

** Miss Part One "The Adventure Begins" of  "My NY Experience"? Check it out first then hit this post**

 Back at MS headquarters we go. We were one of the first guests to stand in line in the small lobby waiting for maybe 20 minutes and were then whisked away in small groups to go up an elevator. We were escorted to an office where we received our badges. Once we were "Tagged" we made our way through a maze of offices and cubicles in the magazine department.  Originally the party was to be held on the roof deck, but because of 30MPH winds they decided it was best to move the party indoors. While it was crowded and warm inside it was better then being sticky, hot and wind blown outside.

Wedding Displays

 As we made our way down the entry way to the party their were lovely displays from the Wedding department. Then Danielle turns to me and says "There she is!"...MARTHA! We were off to the party room full speed ahead. I was of course was star struck, having admired this woman and her empire for the last 15 years. Just as I expected, she was extremely polite and a perfect hostess. Martha announced that she was NOT taking photos with anyone, because she had very little time to be at the party as she had a prior engagement.

Playing Ping Pong along with Kevin Sharkey

Martha getting her Ping Pong game on

 While I was a little upset at first that I wouldn't be going home with a photo of Martha next to my side, I realized how lucky I was to be in the same room with her as she was not originally suppose to be there at all. I did get to take a few photos of her playing Ping Pong along with Kevin Sharkey before she gave a little speech. Martha shared her enthusiasm for blogging and how much she loves Twitter. She of course apologized for having to leave so soon in order to host a party for her Dentist that was planned months prior LOL.

Not only did I get to meet Martha, but the other amazing woman on her team that I truly admire SO much. I spoke with Hanna Milman the SVP Exec Editorial Director for Holidays & Crafts as well as Marcie McGoldrick who is also a Editorial Director for the Holidays & Crafts dept. I was so happy that I could thank Marcie in person for choosing to post my 4th of July display on their blog. I was absolutely stunned and honored when Marcie said that the crafts department loved it and how I created something so outside of the box. She said my marshmallow pops were her favorite. *Insert BIG smile here please*

Robin Marino & Pamela Smerker

I also met Robin Marino the President and CEO of Merchandising. Robin was an absolute joy to speak with and shared some fun new projects she is working on, including Martha Stewart party supplies...Hey can I get in on that??

 While I didn't get to have my photo taken with Martha I did get to have my picture snapped with Martha's daughter, Alexis as well as Jennifer who co host "Whatever With Alexis Jennifer". Both of these ladies were a sheer delight.

A huge highlight for me was  not only walking up to these fabulous woman and talking with them, but that a few of the talented Online Editors from Martha Stewart came up and introduced themselves to me already knowing who I was. *UM yeah insert shocked face here* Tiffany Sun was one of these editors, who I chatted with for a while and it was so nice to finally meet who I was actually writing to on Twitter all this time. I also met Vanessa Holden the SVP, Editor in Chief for Martha Stewart Living. Such an amazing woman and so approachable.

Oreo "Cake" created by Kevin Sharkey

So back to the displays. There were beautiful displays from the Wedding department like I said earlier. There was this brilliant Oreo cake created by Kevin Sharkey! When I saw this I had one of those "Duh why didn't I think of that moments"! Can you take a stab at how many packages of Oreos this must take...I am clueless!

photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Omnimedia

I was so excited to see Wendy Baner the "Pipe Cleaner Lady" at the party. She was teaching everyone how to make adorable Daisy and Rose rings out of pipe cleaners. Aly and I had watched the show when Wendy was a guest and showed Martha how to make these. I knew Aly would be THRILLED if I brought one home for her, and she was. She is still wearing it!

I have one last post from My NY Experience that I will share tomorrow. Take a guess at who else I met at the party?? I can't wait to share!!

See you tomorrow!
Hugs,
Pam

P.S. Thanks so much for the sweet comments on my photography. I have always had a love for it. Of course I am still working on it, as I have no clue how to use photoshop...LOL! 

Diary of a MOMpreneur "My NY Experience" Part One (The Adventure Begins)

In the car heading to the airport Wednesday night at 10:30PM

Wow what a whirlwind of a week.  Sunday the thoughts of making it to New York were doubtful and by Tuesday I had a flight and room booked. Before I start sharing the details of my trip I want to thank all of you who donated to my "Blogging my way to New York" fund. As well as all of the supportive emails, comments , blog, Twitter & Facebook posts. I am a person who does not like to ask for help, I enjoy helping others.  I realize that this trip was a luxury, that many bloggers who wanted to go couldn't. I also know that there are a ton of worthy causes in the world to donate to.  Therefore I can not begin to express how much this trip meant to me an how extremely grateful I am to have had this opportunity. Thank you ALL!

I flew out of Colorado on Thursday morning at 1am. After a layover in NC I finally landed in New York at 11:30am. When they call this flight the Red Eye, boy do they mean it, I had maybe 2 hours of sleep. The cab ride to my hotel was interesting to say the least. I jumped into the smell of cigars and told the hairiest man I have ever met  where I needed to go. UM...HELLO are there any traffic lanes in NY, because the way cards drive around the city you would never know it. Also I had no idea that a car horn could be used more then a turn signal. I can probably count the number of times I have had to use my horn on two hands for my entire driving life! I felt ill by the time I got to my room, most likely the combination of no sleep, the smell, the driving and being anxious. So I settled myself into my room, cleaned up then decided to brave the streets of Manhatten on my own. I really only had enough time to walk a 3-4 block radius and have a late lunch so I didn't get to see a whole lot.

Parking/Storage for  Cars in NY

 The way they park or store cars is interesting I had to take a picture, because this was completely new to me.

NY pizza from Famous Amadeus (I think that was the name of the place)

 On my adventure I saw a small pizza place and thought that was the perfect spot for lunch. I have always enjoyed New York style pizza, so I figured now was my chance to try out the actual thing! Yummy, but OH SO greasy!

Buildings on 29th Street

Building on 29th Street

 I took a few pictures of building while I was out. I love all the little details  and have always loved photos of beautiful archistructure.

My attempt to take a photo of myself with my iPhone before hitting the humidity and heat.

Building where they tape the Martha Stewart Show.

 So back to my room to get ready. Danielle from Lucky Life Parties graciously offered to pick up myself and Brandi from Tweedle Dee Designs and take us to the party. OK, she attempted to take us to the party. (Wasn't Danielle's fault, it was her "2nd Mom" who thought she knew where we were going...all in all a good laugh) We parked in an underground parking garage and starting walking only to find out that we had walked to the building where they tape Martha Stewart's show, not her actual head quarters where the party was. SO we figure out where we are suppose to be, grab a cab and head the opposite direction. No, biggie...it was an adventure and heck I got to see this building as well.

Martha Stewart's Headquarters

Sitting on the dock looking at the Hudson and City

Melon Sangria

 The cab drops us off at MS headquarters and we are still very early despite the detour, so we walk across the street (the three of us in heels) and find ourselves a spot on the Hudson River where we celebrate memories being made.  After melting in the shade, it was in the mid to high 90s and I swear 98% humidity (Even the New Yorkers were complaining about the weather) we headed back across the street to meet Martha.  I swear I have never breathed such thick air before in my life!

There is so much more to this adventure that you will have to stay tuned for Part Two of "My NY Experience" post on Monday! I know, I am such a tease!!

Have a great rest of your weekend.
Hugs,
Pam

Diary of a MOMpreneur {week 11}

Dear Diary,
Boy I haven't written those words (Dear Diary) since I was probably 13 years old...LOL
This week was great! The kids actually got along this week, which made life so much more pleasant. Al my Mr. Wonderful had to actually go into the office since his boss was in town. Normally he works from home, so we are pretty much together NON STOP. The majority of the time it is great, although it was a nice change having him leave for a little while. It actually motivated me to make sure the house was picked up before he came home. On Tuesday while Al was at work I sat all three kids down and gave them a stack of scraps and construction paper to make some photo shoot props. Corbin, being into the whole mustache thing got everyone going. They had glasses and mustaches, lips and top hats. It  was really fun to see what they all came up with. When they were done I got pictures of all of them. I even had help editing the pictures. "Mom you have to make them look old with that sepia stuff"...so that is what this photo is in case you were wondering. They absolutely cracked me up, they were SO serious while taking photos. I entered this project into Martha Stewart's Kids Summer Craft contest. The prize is a vacation for 4 to a Beaches resort. I can't even image a vacation like that OR what it would be like to win. Aly of course thinks we are a shoe in of course. Tyler (my 13 year old) says "Mom you know we will never win", but I told him it doesn't hurt to try and besides we had a great time playing dress up and that is what matters!

Party Starter orders were nice and steady and the best part this week (OK almost the best part..) was all of the features on Aly's Shabby Chic Fairy Party. Unlike most of the popular parties featured out there right now, mine was done on a $100 budget and that seemed to be what people were drawn to. The fact that you CAN throw a beautiful party on a small budget. It is a rush for me to find a good bargain, makes planning all the more fun I think. I have started planning and collecting items for Corbin's party which is less then two weeks now...found some awesome deals already that I can't wait to share over the next 13 days.

Some more fun news... Tommie from Oh My Gluestick has asked me to be a guest blogger once a week over on her blog. SO every Tuesday I will be posting tips, tricks and ideas on party planning. That means I probably won't be posting a lot here on Tuesdays, but would love for you to join me over at OMG's blog to see what I am up to there!

OK SO the very very best part of my week...I got an invitation from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to attend their Blogger Night party in New York!!! Seriously, they have invited 500 bloggers and I was one of them!!! SO what is Martha's Blogger Night? Well its a chance to network with other bloggers, and meet Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia editors and bloggers.
The only problem...um well about $1500. It isn't cheap flying to New York from Colorado on a weeks notice. We don't have credit cards, we live pay check to pay check, so $1500 is a lot on short notice. Not only have I been trying to figure out a way to make it work, but Al has been trying non stop since I was invited, which really means the world to me. Of course I would DIE if I could go, but if I can't the fact that I was invited and that Al has tried so hard to make it happen is enough for me. I am such a lucky girl!!  I will of course let you all know if by some chance it happens to work out. ***EDITED TO ADD*** I have created a donate button on the top right hand side of my blog for anyone who wishes to help me get to New York to meet Martha's crew. If you can please donate before August 3, 2010...THANK YOU!!

I guess that is about it for this week. Next week I have to get one of the three kids registered for school...ugh! School supply shopping will of course be happening in the next few weeks. That is one kind of shopping I do NOT like! Then plan and get ready for my little man's party on the 14th!

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of your weekend and WOW Happy August!! Seriously, how did that happen? Weren't we just celebrating the 4th of July like a week ago...how is it August already...slow down 2010...please!

Alrighty, see ya tomorrow!!
Hugs,
Pam

Diary of a MOMprenuer {week 10}

Well the orders for the week have been done and my daughter's birthday party is over...WOW what a week! I do believe last weekend I was experiencing the calm before the storm and boy was this week crazy! Lot of orders, trying out a new menu schedule and attempting to get everything done I have planned for Aly's party.

So, the menu scheduling thing... I am SO tired of trying to figure out breakfast, lunch and dinner EVERYDAY!! I hate the saying "whats for food?" which is what I hear 2-3 times a day!  So what I thought I would do is check out a menu planning website and see how it goes and if it would make life any easier. I ended up at Tasty Planner and so far so good. We have been doing it for a week and a half now and I must say that trips to the grocery store have gone way down and the stress of trying to figure out what to make every night has almost gone completely! You simply browse through recipes that they have on their website or you can enter in your own recipes which is nice. Then you save recipes to your recipe box or you put them in your planner for whichever day of the week you want. Then when you are finished with a week of scheduling you can print out a grocery list. I must say I don't like the way they handle their shopping list. All they do is take every ingredient and put it on a list. You get lots of duplicates this way, but it is a free service, so its up to you how much your time is worth having to simplify your list. If you want it all done for you then a paid service is probably better. Since we are trying this out, I figured I can deal with sorting for a while, looking over the list several times helps me remember what I need while shopping anyway I suppose.
I told my 13 year old son that he needs to start  picking out a recipe for dinner once a week and he is in charge of making it (with my help if need be). I am NOT going to have boys who are  helpless in the kitchen! I will let you know how that goes this week as we need to pick out our recipes again and get to the store sometime today.  Finally ONE thing to make life a little less complicated!!

The party...while I had some ideas of what I wanted the party to look like and had picked up a few things up here and there I really wasn't ready. Friday I spent most of the day running around, taking kids to friend's houses and Aly to ballet (she just started ballet 1 this week). I also hit the second hand store in town that was having their big Summer blow out sale. They mark everything in the store 50% off to get rid of all of there Summer wear and accessories to make room for Fall and Winter. I got a few glassware pieces that I am in love with for the party as seen in Friday's Sneak Peak post. Friday night the panic set in... and I realized how much I didn't have done! I am SO much better at planning other people's parties, but when it comes to my own it seems to be last minute. I also was nervous about creating something different. There are tons of "Fairy parties" out there right now and I want mine to be unique, just like my Hazardous Teen party was unique. Anyway, at 11:00pm I was making cupcake balls, cupcakes and chocolate covered marshmallow pops. At 1:00am I was making cupcake wrappers, fairy boxes and cupcake picks. By 2am my brain was mush and I went to bed. I knew I would just start messing stuff up if I continued. Back up at 7:30am to get paper products done, run and grab flowers at the store and then set up. I am so pleased with how it all turned out!

Here are a few pictures from the party:

 This is the dress and headband I made for Aly. 

 

One of our party activities was making Fairy Tutus. My plan was to have them done ahead of time, but this actually worked out great as it took up some time and the girls got to pick which colors they wanted. Plus they loved watching them come together which was really cute! A big thank you to my Mother in law and Sister in law for helping me cut and tie 18 yards of tulle.

 

Corbin my 10 yr old and my niece who is 13 yrs old face painted the other girls while they waited for their tutus. Corbin was my "project coordinator/ face painter" or so he said..LOL. He was fabulous and played "duck duck goose" with the girls while they waited for each activity. What a wonderful big brother and a huge help!

After we made tutus the girls made necklaces with wood beads. Then I got out a big box of foam stickers I found on clearance for .97 cents along with giant Pixie sticks for them to create their own Fairy wands. They loved these, especially when I said there was candy inside the stick. 

The girls had their fairy wands, glittery crowns, tutus and faces painted then they were off running trying to find real fairies in the flower garden. I love this photo, it just looks magical!

 Last here is a sneak peak of the table set up which I will share tomorrow. This was a little side table for the lemonade and to show off some of the adorable Fairy Marshmallow pops from Stix N Pops. A HUGE hit by the way!!!

So there is a little taste of the party and of my week. See you tomorrow with all the Fairy party decorations and details!

Hugs,
Pam