Creative Party PLace

Dr. Seuss Birthday Cake

Carnival Birthday Party with Games

Leave a Comment April 23, 2010

This Birthday Carnival was originally hosted by Stephanie from Under the Table and Dreaming.
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It’s been awhile since I’ve featured a carnival themed party. When I saw this one and all the games I just had to share. They did such a great job with all of the game booths. Very inspiring!

Enjoy the carnival……….

Please bear with me as I have one more party to share! {that is until this years celebration} I am anxious to get back to some craft and decorating projects and promise to do so shortly! But first I’d like to show you my son’s second birthday; a Carnival Extraordinaire. This was my favorite party thus far to put together. It took me a little more than six months of planning to coordinate everything however, despite the long hours put in and loads of work it was very well worth it in the end.

The invitations were printed on cardstock and actual tickets were attached for each guest to bring to the party for admission.

Included with each invitation was a photo card which had twelve photos, a photo for each month of the past year. It was so cute to see all of the photos together and how much his adorable expressions had changed!

The admission gate was manned by a fabulous clown and carnival barker. They collected the admission tickets and gave each child a wristband to enter. I wanted to create as much of a classic fairground feel as possible for the kiddies to enjoy the full carnival experience!

As each child arrived and checked in, they were given helium filled balloons and thier own personalized game bag.

The game bags were given out to easily hold the prizes that were won at each game. They were simply made from kraft gift bags which were decorated with a printed carnival theme tag including each child’s name {with 52 kiddies in attendance it was important to have each bag labeled so each kiddie knew which bag was theirs} The tags were glued to the front and ribbons attached to the handles to add a little color.

The decorations were kept pretty simple with everything else going on. Fun pinwheels tucked in mason jars, shelled peanuts in brown bags and oversized paper fortune tellers made up the centerpieces for each table.

I made several easy no sew pendant banners to hang around the pavillion as well. A carnival music cd played in the background to set mood and was the perfect touch.

There were a total of ten game stations set up for everyone to enjoy. I handmade the signs for each booth and my wonderful hubby helped with the construction of the games. I could not have pulled this off without the help of some great friends who volunteered to work booths! Each child won a prize at every game {and everyone was a winner}. The kiddies loved carrying the game bags around to collect their goodies!

We had a Classic Ring Toss Game

The prize: A commemorative printed Birthday Dollar Bill for each child

Pick a Duck

The Prize: Homemade Chocolate duck candies.

Hungry Clown Bean Bag Toss

The Prize: Hotdog Shaped Marshmallow Treats

A Fish Bowl Game

The Prize: Real Live Goldfish. {The parents loved this one ~ not really ~ but the kids sure did} Our local pet store was kind enough to bag each fish separately for us – I just had to call ahead and order a lot more than we needed to account for any sad fatalities. It was important that every kiddie went home with a live fishy!

There was a Three Strike Baseball Game with Homemade Baseball Rice Krispie Treat Prizes.

A Tattoo Booth…

…don’t worry they were temporary!

A Face Painting Booth

I did have to hire two face painters as no one wanted this job.

A Kissing Booth {with a little twist} There was a jar filled with Hershey Kisses and everyone had a chance to guess the amount. The closest guess won the entire jar which we gave out during our cake cutting.

For the Fortune Teller I made fun fabric fortune cookies that held cute little sayings. Each child got to pick their fortune from the crystal bowl.

The Last stop was a ‘Say Cheese’ Photo Booth. My talented hubby painted the photo prop of a strong man and clown in which we cut out the faces with a jig saw.

We had a photographer on site that manned the booth and took pictures of each family which we later printed and mailed out with our thank you cards.

While the games were being played three clowns walked our fairgrounds and entertained everyone.

No carnival is complete without lots and lots of sweet yummy goodness! Among the treats were Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Pops, Chocolate Covered cookies, Caramel Apples, Confetti Rice Krispie Treats, Popcorn Cupcakes, Popcorn Boxes, and of course Packaged Cotton Candy to name a few.

We had an onsite caterer for the main food – again another easy way out of doing the cooking myself. It alleviates so much stress not having to run around and cook on top of everything else especially for that many guests.

The food topped off the carnival feel with Hot Sliced Pit Beef Sandwiches, Fresh Fried Chicken, and Hotdogs

The main cake was a four tired vanilla cake with red and white fondant stripes, dots and stars. Another homemade creation which isn’t professional but was fun to put together.

For CJ’s personal cake I made a Jeep ready to hit the trails.

We love Jeeps and this one was made to match our real life recreational toy!

In addition to all the booth goodies and game prizes each child received a Goody Bag to remember this special day. There was a wide age range of kids at the party so I came up with three different bags filled with age appropriate treats. Kraft sacks were used adorned with a vintage carnival photo and secured with a polka dot ribbon and name tag. {I blurred the images as they were found and printed from Google so I’m not sure of the copy write} I had so much fun making all the goodies and putting these together.

The bag toppers were made with a Carnival Sideshow theme in mind ~ Tiniest Animals on Earth {Animal Crackers}, Clown Droppings {Colored Gumballs}, and Most Colorful Fish {Rainbow Goldfish Crackers}. The kids got a kick out of these!

The 6yr and older bag consisted of a Rainbow Crayon Pattie and Coloring Sheets, Carnival Sideshow ‘Tiniest Animals on Earth’, a Fleece Freeze Pop Holder w/ Freeze Pop, a Set of Juggler Balls and Instructions on How to Juggle, The Worlds Best Play Dough Mix, Matchbook Tic Tac Toe on the Go w/ Colored Pencils, and Carnival Sideshow ‘Clown Droppings’.

The 3yr to 5yr bag consisted of Matchbook Tic Tac Toe on the Go w/ Colored Pencils, The Worlds Best Play Dough Mix, Carnival Sideshow ‘Tiniest Animals on Earth’, Carnival Sideshow ‘Most Colorful Fish’, a Fleece Freeze Pop Holder w/ Freeze Pop, an I Spy Bottle (filled with little trinkets and a search list), and a Rainbow Crayon Pattie and Coloring Sheets.

The 2yr and younger bag consisted of Carnival Sideshow ‘ Most Colorful Fish’, Carnival Sideshow ‘Tiniest Animals on Earth’, a Fleece Freeze Pop Holder w/ Freeze Pop (so your hands don’t get cold when your eating a freeze pop!), Matchbook Drawing Pad w/ Colored Pencils, The Worlds Best Play Dough Mix, a Rainbow Crayon Pattie and Coloring Sheets, and a Backyardigans CD.

Another amazing year gone by and a fabulous celebration down in the books. This party was a lot of work and preparation however; it was totally worth every bit of it just to see the delight on the kids faces, mainly the joy in our little guys eyes!

You may wonder why all the party talk lately…well I have six months until our next party and I still do not have a theme for this year yet! I am hoping the Celebration Inspiration Party will give me the spark I need!

Thanks for letting me share this special day! The Celebration Party is still running so be sure to stop by and check out the fabulous links that have joined up here {or add your own special day to the mix} Enjoy!

Linked to One Crafty Mommy, Funky Junk Interiors, Tatertots and Jello, Making the World Cuter, The Girl Creative, Skip to My Lou, Lucky Star Lane, All Thingz Related, Me and My Bucket, Someday Crafts, Roots & Wings Co, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Somewhat Simple, Just a Girl, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Poppies at Play

Filed Under: Birthday Party, Games, Other Creative Ideas

Frog Prince Birthday

Giraffe Baby Shower

Minnie Mouse Birthday

Asian Theme Birthday Party

443 Comments April 13, 2010

This Asian Theme Birthday Party was originally hosted on Heather’s blog, It’s My Party.

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An asian theme is one I see too often, so I was excited to see this party listed. It’s always fun to see new ideas and give people some inspiration for theme ideas. I love the strong colors of the red, gold, and black. And who wouldn’t love those dipped fortune cookies? Too cute! Thanks for listing this party Heather.

Enjoy this asian inspired birthday…..

My friend Kim planned this fabulous Asian Themed 25th Birthday Party for her sister-in-law! We call Kim the idea girl because whenever we come up with a party theme, Kim has a million fantastic ideas! Check out how her ideas came to life:

The Party Table

Kim chose to use a red, black and gold colour scheme. This would be perfect for a Chinese New Year gathering as well!

Fortune Cookies

Dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles. These are sure to be a standby for all of our parties! And they’re yummy too!

Table Decor
Sometimes you luck out when it comes to decorating for a party – this gold table runner was compliments of the host!

Party Favours
Kim found these amazing fabric bags filled with gold chocolates. We dumped the chocolates… well we saved them for guests to eat later of course… and filled them with favours!

Cake Balls
Chocolate coated doghnut holes – another party staple!

Table Decor

Kim made this cool tree/branch thing by spray painting a tree branch black and gluing on small squares of tissue paper for flowers.

Fab Finds

We found some really great party gear while ‘treasure hunting’ one day… including the cake stand seen in the background!

More Decor

Kim created the box using a cricut die cut, ribbon, stamps and letter beads.

Party Favour Table

If there is one thing that you’re sure to find at a party that I am involved in, it’s Sour Cream Containers! You can find the tutorial here.

Sour Cream Containers

They demanded a close up!

Thanks for checking out Kim’s fabulous party! Please leave a comment so that I may pass on the feedback to her. Kim – it was a blast – I love sharing our passion for parties!

Filed Under: Adult Birthday, Other Creative Ideas, table settings, take home goodies

Owl Theme Party

527 Comments April 9, 2010

This Owl theme party was originally hosted by DimplePrints.
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Owls are all the rage right now and DimplePrints did a great job at putting together an inspiration board with bright and colorful ideas to compliment the owl theme! I really love the crafty touches and all the creative cupcakes. Thanks for listing your party!

Enjoy the owl theme inspiration —–

This theme is fun for everything from a first birthday to an older kids night owl sleep over or even a daytime pj party, who doesn’t love pjs!

Menu: Night time munchies-popcorn, junk food, chips, etc. (oh how my kids would love this menu, okay me too!!)

Decorations: There are darling owl pillow all over the web (etsy, amazon, etc.). They would be fairly simple to make with some inexpensive felt (you could sew or even hot glue them together). Owl pillows would be a fun craft/favor for older children to make.

How cute are these round felt owls? Here is the tutorial . They call for styrofoam balls which can be surprisingly pricey! I have modified crafts which have called for them before by using shaved down styrofoam squares (cheaper, sometimes you can even find them at the dollar store!), or even a wodded up old shirt or rag (using duct tape to form a ball shape) as well as a cheapo dollar store ball (note you can’t use hot glue on these though as they will melt, but you could probably wrap with duct tape a few times to avoid this problem).

Filed Under: Animals, Birthday Party, Cupcakes & Cake

John Deere Birthday Party

Ooh La La Paris Birthday Party

504 Comments April 5, 2010

Hey party people….I’m back! Vacation was fabulous and relaxing! I’m so grateful to all the ladies who filled in for me as guest party posters while I was gone. I took some time too look over all their posts and it was just post after post of pure fabulouness! If you missed any of them please be sure to go back and look over all the posts from the last two weeks. And please also remember to visit their blogs as well!

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So, I went to the east coast but a girlfriend of mine just got back from Paris. So when I saw this Paris themed birthday party it just stood out to me. It was originally hosted by Carissa from Musings of a Modern Mom.

It’s pink, it’s posh, and it’s perfectly partylicious! Thanks for listing your party Carissa.

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Julia’s 8th birthday party. We brought Paris to our house with pink and black colored festivities!

The invitations…

Tender Lemon Cake with Swiss Buttercream icing.
An array of pink goodies to choose from!

Jordan and Presley…

Sara and Carlee…

Pin the Poof on the Poodle!

And the winner is….Jordan Wood! She got it right on!!
And the birthday girl!

Julia and Presley…

Joyeux Anniversaire!

Making her wish…

Can’t believe it’s been 8 years since she graced my Manic Monday with her sweetness.
Love you, my little cuddle bug!

Filed Under: Birthday Party, invitations, Parties For Girls, table settings

Antique Pram Baby Shower

554 Comments April 2, 2010

Happy Friday! The Swanky Chicks are back and we have an adorable baby shower post for you today. A Portland mommy-to-be had her hostesses contact us to design her a baby shower based around her pram that she purchased in a local antique shop. We jumped at the opportunity and had a great time working on this project. The theme was based around the antique pram and our fonts and designs came from old apothecary labels.

Pram Baby Shower

We created answer sheets for the baby shower games that incorporated the antique pram image and great antique fonts. The ladies had a ton of fun with these games. They played “who’s that baby?” and the mommy-to-be snuck in a baby picture of dad that had everyone giggling. The hostess also had everyone write a short story for mom-to-be using a list of words, some baby themed and some random, like rattle and tow truck. We heard this one got a ton of laughs.

The favors were a candle tied in cellophane bags with an adorable poem written by the shower hostess! She is so creative!

Here’s a candle to light when you hear us say,

…Sweet “Baby Dolan” is NOW on the way!

Let it serve as a token of thanks in anticipation,

As we join in together with hopeful celebration!

Please keep it as remembrance to PRAY,

For a safe delivery this coming May!

And along with baby we’ll give deepest appreciation

For helping us out of such a “tight” situation!

The shower was “Anticipating Baby” so the candle tins said “Anticipating Baby” with her due date. We just adore the antique pram and it was wonderful inspiration. Baby shower

Don’t these cute pink cupcakes look delicious!

We had a wonderful time working with these ladies and they did an amazing job bringing our designs to life!

Filed Under: Baby Shower, Guest Post, party favors, Printables, Real Parties, Uncategorized

Around the Clock Bridal Shower

505 Comments April 1, 2010

The Swanky Chicks are so thrilled to be your guest blogger for the day! Swanky Chicks is your baby and bridal shower planning destination so we thought we would share with you a creative bridal shower idea. An around the clock bridal shower will ensure that the bride receives gifts she needs in all areas of her life, and give you a fun theme that you can really get creative with.

So what is an around the clock bridal shower? The shower focuses on the different “times” in a bride and grooms lives together and creates categories for gift-giving. This can be done in one of two ways , each guest is assigned an hour of the day or a time like breakfast time or party time. Your guests will have a ton of fun choosing gifts for their assigned time and the bride will receive everything from a waffle maker to lingerie.

Ice Cream Timer: Swanky Chicks, Cookies: The Cupcake Mom

Here is a simple poem for the invitations to explain the shower to your guests.

We’re having a party! And won’t it be fun
Many cheers and best wishes before we are done
A shower for (bride’s name), our esteemed bride-to-be
A reason to revel, we know you’ll agree

“The times of our life” is the theme for this day
To help the new couple get on their way
Breakfast at home, lunch in the park
Playtime and fun time from morning til dark

Filling each second, each minute, each hour
That is our challenge for this bridal shower
We hope you can join us, we hope you’ll agree
(Hostess’s address) is the place to be!

YOUR TIME OF DAY IS_______________

You can incorporate this theme in everything from the invitations to the food. Serve food buffet style from a variety of meal times around the clock. Incorporate clocks and timers into the decor, and give kitchen timers or calendars as favors.

This shower theme would also work really well for a baby shower, assign times like bed time and bath time.

Filed Under: Guest Post, Uncategorized, Wedding

Baby Boy Sip & “Sea” Shower

584 Comments March 30, 2010

I’m so happy to be your guest blogger today! I’m Chris Nease, event designer and blogger of Celebrations At Home. I specialize in designing the smaller parties for all the celebrations in your life, and blog about ideas and inspiration for bringing entertaining back home. I also create Personalized Inspiration Boards for those who don’t have the budget for an event planner but could use some direction and inspiration.

Today I’m going to share a baby shower I designed to introduce a new baby boy. Best described as a Sip and See (or “Sea” in this case) this gives everyone a chance to meet the new baby and is a great way to celebrate a second or third child.

ss2 sweetstrio The nautical theme and colors were chosen to reflect the nursery. I used clear glass plates and cut out oceanic maps from scrapbook paper, to place underneath. The centerpiece highlighted a ships wheel, and sailor’s compass, along with small flower arrangements with bath-toy fish inserted into them. A different nautical flag was inserted into each water glass, and the favors were a fun take on the “message in a bottle” idea. The ‘napkins’ were rolled dish towels. ss1 ss4 ss3 ss5 On the drinks table we served an “Ocean Breeze” cocktail and blue Jones sodas. I used a ‘fish’ craft punch to make confetti to sprinkle on some of the serving trays, and made drink charms from nautical themed buttons. More maps were used to create a collage display board with pictures of the new baby and family.

The dessert table provided monogramed cookies, berry parfaits served in baby food jars, and mini cupcakes with more nautical flags. ss6 ss7 ss8

More details included custom invitations, a welcome life saver on the front door, an ‘islander cheeseball’ served in a boat, and more bath toys and plush toys as part of the decor.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this and will be inspired to host your own nautical themed party, or a sip and see shower! Cheers!

Filed Under: Baby Shower, First Birthday, Guest Post, Parties For Boys, Real Parties, Uncategorized

Sustainable Celebrations

487 Comments March 29, 2010

Greetings, pretty partiers! It is an honor to sub for Shannon while she is enjoying some much needed R&R. I am Alysia Cleys, the owner of Prost to the Host event planning and decor business.

With my businesses, I help my clients with their event planning needs while staying on budget. Since the majority of my clients are from the Pacific Northwest, being environmentally friendly is an important factor when planning their events. Their main concerns are what kind of impact will their celebration make on the earth once it has ended. Will the decorations, tableware and wrappings all make their way to the trash? Will the remnants from a moment of fun will end up in the landfill. How do you stay on budget and be eco-friendly at the same time? Here are some tips get your started!

1) Use rewashable plates and utensils. In addition to second hand stores and vintage shops, Ikea has the most affordable tableware around. Buy a set of dessert plates and bring them out for every event. If you want disposable, find sugarcane, bamboo or corn based products that will easily breakdown within a month. These one-time use options are surprisingly affordable and are as sturdy as the paper/plastic options.

2) Reduce decorations.Use colors that are timeless, making your decorations reusable. If you are planning a theme, paper decorations can be removed and tossed in the recycling box. If you want to be more green, use fabric based decorations, that you can for another event. Steps to an easy diy pennant banner is just a click away. Also, consider branches, seasonal foliage and flowers for decor.

decorations {curly willow and mini paper poms; paper pom place settings and alstroemerias in mini beakers}

3) Encourage your guests to carpool. Going to the same place? Why not hitch a ride with a friend. Reduce your emissions and enjoy great company.

4) Give edible favors. Who doesn’t like a sweet treat? Admittedly, I’ve given favors that lost its appeal a few days later, but my clients and I have always been a fan of edible goodies. My favorite websites for ideas (to inspire or purchase) are Bakerella and Etsy. Bakerella has an unbelievable talent for making the most delectable looking desserts. If you are on a time crunch, peruse the shops at Etsy for their baked goodies.

5) Pick foods that are seasonal and local. Hit up your local farmer’s market or shop at your local grocery to showcase your region’s finest produce. Choose a menu centered around these elements for a feast your guests will not forget.

{fresh melons from a local farmer’s market}

There are many more ways you can do your part. This is just a few. However, it can seem daunting to do all at once, but just take one step at a time. What do you like to do to be eco-friendly?? Please share your favorite green tip with us! Happy party planning!

Filed Under: Party Decor

DIY no sew pirate flag

451 Comments March 26, 2010

Yep, it’s me again, Kim Byers from The Celebration Shoppe. In last week’s Splish Splash Bash post I shared a “real party,” so today I thought I would share a “real easy craft.” And I have something better than still shots, I have a video. {wink}

In my inspiration board of items from the shoppe and you can see my flag in the bottom center image. Oh, and the pirate crispy pops are mine too if you want to whip up a few. They were a huge hit at my oldest’s 4th birthday bash!

The flag is super simple and no-sew. Here’s what you’ll need:

Black standard size pillowcase
1/2 yard white cotton fabric
1/4 yard red and white stripe fabric
1/2 yard Heat n Bond
3/4 inch diameter dowel
Gold bobble/earring
Gold thread

You can hop over to my blog for the complete tutorial including templates and step-by-step instructions. Or, you can just watch the video…

Happy Friday everyone!

Filed Under: Pirate Party

All in Due Time Couples Shower

585 Comments March 25, 2010

Hey there! Eleanor from Pink Peppermint Paper here. Many thanks to Shannon for inviting me to do a guest post! I’ve done quite a few childrens’ parties recently, so I thought I’d share something a bit different. Hope you enjoy this coed baby shower some friends and I recently threw!

Our friends are expecting a little girl, so I was on the hunt for something feminine but not so much so that the guys would feel squirmy. I decided that using mod printed papers and due date-themed elements would be a nice middle ground. If my math is right, the mom- and dad-to-be will be celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary this summer, and since this is their first baby I thought “All in Due Time” was a theme that worked well.

Here’s the shower invitation!

All in Due Time Shower Invitation

I found a great grouping of coordinating scrapbook papers. I liked them because of their use of pink and green and the concentric circles–both themes in the baby’s nursery bedding. Plus, there was a number element that worked well with the due date theme. They mailed in a strawberry colored envelope lined with numbers.

When guests arrived, they were greeted with this paper loop wreath also made from patterned papers.

paper loop wreath

In the foyer was the perfect place to sort of introduce our theme with some due date numbers. I painted them and distressed them a bit. I then hot glued them to some inexpensive craft boxes, which were covered with more decorative paper.

I also found this small craft figure, which I made preggars with half an Easter egg cut the long way. I dressed her in cut paper to match the numbers.

preggo

And here’s the full affect for the entry way complete with those beautiful pink flowering branches. I love Spring!

entry way table

Here are the flowers. They complimented the color scheme perfectly!

flowers

I am always amazed at how easy it is to find even the unlikeliest of things in the colors you need. I found this mod polka dot fabric as well as the more floral one shown above. Then, I came across napkins that echoed both the color scheme and the fabric.

wine glasses

We served chicken kabobs, roast beef on rolls, spinach and artichoke dip, fruit, bruschetta, and a yummy sundried pesto roasted red pepper cheese cake with crackers. Tasty!

In Due TIme Couples Shower Spread

In keeping with our theme, we sent guests home with these pocket calendar favors.

favors

I bought inexpensive vinyl-covered calendars and used patterned papers by trimming them to size and slipping them into the vinyl to cover the original. They were tied with a bow and had a tag reading “All in Due Time” and including the baby’s due date. Their big day was also marked inside! I borrowed these little suitcases of my daughter’s, which strangely enough, matched perfectly. Plus, I thought it was a subtle nod to both the idea of having a bag packed for the hospital and to hitting the road when the fun ended.

We had an evening of fun reconnecting with old college friends, and I think it was a really special night for the Mom- and Dad-to-Be. If you want to see more of the party, check it out the details on my blog. Thanks!