Lauren and I recently gave our friend Sarah a little inspiration for her son’s first birthday. Her youngest boy, Caleb, just turned one, and mama had a sweet and simple clutter cutting celebration on the brain. Sarah introduced us to the Milk + Bookies Birthday Party, a concept that has party goers bring new books in lieu of gifts to donate to the charity of the host’s choice. I, for one, have always had a hard time choosing gifts for kiddos with older same gender siblings.

Sarah used a color scheme of brown, white and red and used children’s books throughout the party areas to tie in the Milk+Bookies element.

Look at these cutie pies in their milk and cookies shirts from the kizart Etsy shop.

Here’s the cute table she did using coordinating fabrics and featuring the main course–COOKIES! Chocolate chip, sugar, OREOS, animal crackers and more. What kiddo wouldn’t love a party full of cookies?

Next to the cookies, there were plastic “pints for your half pint” in 2% and chocolate from the local University dairy. And in a separate area, the milk bar had carafes of plain, strawberry and chocolate milk on ice.

Also hanging out at this station were the most fab drinking straw ’stache sippers–one of my most fave things I’ve seen in a long time! These cuties were spotted over at It’s Toile Good, and Lauren had the idea to use them as {swoon} milk mustaches for this event! So what’s it gonna be? Plain white milk mustache or chocolate milk mustache?

A purist, I see. An excellent choice! I beg your pardon, sir, but you seem to have a little something on your chin. Too funny!

There were cookies all over!

And even a few bookworms.

And here’s Caleb, the birthday boy, enjoying his smash cake, which was made by a local cake shop to look like a giant chocolate chip cookie.

Happy 1st Birthday Caleb!

I whipped up a little Easter party for my daughter’s class yesterday. The kids are two and three years old, so I tried to keep things fun, simple and inexpensive. Here are a few ideas for quick and easy food and decorations.

Here’s one of the tables. The plates were all ears. Super quick, cheap and easy to make. You can download the template here.

I found some fun and springy plaid napkins and thought it would be sweet to pleat them into bows. Hair bows for the girls’ bunnies and bowties for the boys’.

I secured the center with a small piece of white pipe cleaner.

I used inexpensive plastic tablecloths–lavender layered on top of green with ruffled edges as seen here on Cupcakes & Cutlery.

I found some cute little plain spring trees in the dollar bins at Target and used them as centerpieces. I stuck jellybeans on the tips of the branches to make them a little more colorful and fun.

The kids couldn’t help but snack on them while they enjoyed their other food. I made my bird’s nest brownies, and served baby carrots and ranch dressing and some snack mix with juice boxes.

A customer of mine asked me for some treat tags for Peeps last week with the message “You’re one of my favorite Peeps,” so I whipped some up for her and they turned out so cute that I decided to make some for myself and leave those in the kids’ cubby holes from the big man – the Easter Bunny.

After they all had a belly full, it was time to head outside for the egg hunt!

They sure did find all those eggs a lot faster than we hid them! Go figure. I was really pleased with the way everything turned out. With just a few simple ideas that were easily executable, we had a cute and memorable party. Just goes to show you don’t have to spend weeks of time and lots of money to do something fun for your little ones! Note to self.

My 3 year old’s teacher asked if I could coordinate an Easter party for her class this year. It was three weeks out, which I told myself was a good thing. No need going overboard here.

We’re doing a few simple snacks with some decorations for the tables. I’ve got plastic tablecloths, which I’m giving the ruffle treatment compliments of this how-to from Cupcakes and Cutlery. Decided also to give a little Easter treatment to some plain white plates for added festivity. I saw something similar on a precious beach/underwater themed party post a while back. The plates were made into crabs. I’ve long since lost track of that post, but they were adorable. If anyone has the link, please share it!

I still have another week, but here’s how things are shaping up so far.

Y’all are going to get really tired of seeing my new fab grass mats in every post from here on out, huh? I’ve got a few more ideas I’m chewing on. We’ll see. If you want to make your own bunny plates, you can download a PDF template for the ears below. It works on 7- to 9-inch plates for sure, but you can enlarge or shrink the file as needed. Enjoy!

Download bunny ears template

I’ve been stuck in a Beatrix Potter vein this Easter season. I saw some awesome faux cabbage leaf chargers in a catalog, and it got me thinking how cute it would be to use real carrots, cabbage, lettuce, radishes (do rabbits eat those?) and other bunny fare to decorate for an Easter party!

On a whim, I grabbed some produce and used items I already had at home to make this festive bunny snacks centerpiece!

What you’ll need:

• whole carrots
• 3/16″ dowel rods
• green yarn, raffia or string
• Spanish moss
• a container deep enough to sink the dowel rods at least 3 inches and provide stability to each carrot
• foam, oasis or a wood piece with drilled holes for your dowels cut to fit your container
• decorative ribbon if desired

My dowels were a bit long at 12 inches, so I snipped about 3 inches off with some heavy duty scissors before getting started.

I had a HUGE skein of yarn left over from several Halloweens ago (witch’s hair), which I split and used a single thickness of to wrap my dowel rods like such:

I didn’t have to adhere the yarn to the dowels. Instead I just wrapped the yarn at top and bottom to hold itself on. You can leave about 1/4 inch at the top exposed and whatever amount at bottom that will be hidden in your base. If you wrap it all the way down, the yarn will bunch a bit when you slide it into the foam.

Then, I snapped the green tops off the carrots and pushed the 1/4 inch of unwrapped dowel about that far into the base of the carrot. Be gentle or the carrot may split. Here’s what you end up with.

I prepared my base, threading my container with this awesome burlap ribbon.

Then I used some bright green Spanish moss to camouflage my foam.

As you can see, my container was oblong, but I think there are a variety of shapes that work – square with 3 carrots across and 3 down or maybe even potting each carrot by itself. The trick with the single carrot will be to find a pot that doesn’t visually overpower one carrot but is deep enough to secure the dowel and heavy enough not to tip over with the weight.

I placed the center carrot first, and then the carrot on either end and worked toward the middle to ensure equal spacing.  For extra stability, you could use low temperature hot glue to keep the dowels from wobbling. After inserting the carrots in my base, I filled in the top of the arrangement with more Spanish moss and that was it!

Here’s the finished product.

Here are a few more pictures of the table you might enjoy as well as a source list at the bottom of the post.

The carrots lasted for quite a few days in the fridge even after the dowels were inserted. I’d say you could easily do this the day before a party and still have them look great. I soaked mine in water too and that seemed to help preserve their freshness. They’re supposed to look a little rough–it adds to the sort of rustic, fresh-picked look. After three days of leaving mine on the counter, they were a little tired and on the fourth day, I was left with this:

I’m going to wait until closer to Easter and redo the centerpiece with some fresh carrots. Hope you enjoy!

Sources:

• Melamine cups, bowls and plates, coordinating drinking straws – Target
• Coordinating napkins – Party City
• Grass mats and small felt carrots – Hobby Lobby

OK, so I have been so crazy busy over the last few weeks that only yesterday (under pressure from an impending visit from my inlaws) did I take down the snowflake decorations that have been hanging in my dining room since January.

And TODAY, out of a mixture of guilt and utter shame over not having announced this yet and a major need to get thee winter merriment out of mine house, I finally compiled all the entries, and the winner of this fun giveaway was chosen by Random.org.

Drumrooooollll please…. and the winner is Cineca of Dreamin’ N Details! She is a fab party girl herself, and I can’t wait to see what fantastic creations she uses her winnings for! Check out her blog for more great party inspiration.

Congratulations, Cineca! And thanks to all who entered. Stay tuned for more giveaways when we launch our new website in the next few months!

I love you Spring. You are my fave time of year {save for my outrageous seasonal allergies}. That’s alright though. I love you anyway! Don’t tell Fall.

I think there’s nothing perkier than a little touch of green to get you in the mood for Spring. Case in point:

Doesn’t this image make you want to do a cartwheel? It’s one of my all-time fave customer images. I suggested it. She tried it with stunning results and then taught me how to do it myself!

If you’ve never tried your hand at growing your own wheat grass instead of paying $20 for a flat at your local nursery, I highly encourage you to give it a whirl this year. It’s perfect for Easter, for baby showers and bridal teas this time of year. Around here you can get a large solo cup full of wheat grass seeds for $2. All you need is some seeds, a container, some dirt and water. Start about 7-10 days out since you have to soak the seeds for a time first. There are all sorts of directions online for growing decorative wheat grass. It’s super simple.

Last year for Easter I gave our teachers these:

I bought lined baskets and cute, inexpensive bunny figurines, grew the wheat grass, nestled the bunnies in and added a bright Eastery plaid bow to each basket handle. Note: there will be a fretful moment when you think your grass won’t be ready in time, but it grows and fills in AMAZINGLY quick! Just make sure you keep it moist. It’s a sweet gift for teachers or hostesses and for $10 each (less if you’re a real bargain shopper), you can’t beat it.

Happy Spring!

So I’m still winter princessing it until this weekend. Valentine’s is not totally on my radar yet. And in case it seems like I’m slacking, our new preschool has requested that we not send individual goody bags for each occasion. Instead, every kiddo gets one really good one. So since I’m not making anything new this year for my two, I’ve decided to share adorable things I come across on my Facebook page. Are you following?

If you missed these last year, here are a few quick and easy suggestions for Valentine’s Day treats.

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It’s hard to believe it’s already time again for my Christmas baby’s birthday party! Really does seem like not that long ago we hosted the silhouette-themed birthday brunch for close friends and family.  We held the celebration on her birthday (December 27th) last year because we already had everyone in town for the holidays. With all the Christmas business I do on top of the typical holiday to dos, I decided that this year we’d wait until school was back in session, hand out invitations in early January and allow ourselves some time for holiday recovery before the party on the 29th. I am brilliant, no?

Well, let me tell you, we are ALL about some princesses this year. Princesses and snow, which we never have but she enjoys talking about. A lot. Making snowmen. Snow families. Snow angels. Catching snowflakes on her tongue. Sledding. I think she’s been watching too much Olivia. We had Kristen over at Crumb Gourmet whip up these sweet No. 3 cookies for her to share with her preschool friends. We did a little touch of the licensed character stuff for her classroom celebration, which made Caroline quite happy.

And now I get to plan something inspired by the season and devoid of anything Disney, which makes me quite happy! Here is the invitation.

I tried my hand for the first time at a glitter embellishment on the invitations. It’s just a touch, but I think it really adds a big of magic to them, and sets just the right mood. I haven’t played with glitter since 1994, when a friend nominated me (in my absence I might add) to hand glitter what had to have been over 500 names on date signs for prom. Glitter has come a LONG way since then.

Note: it is unreasonably hard to capture things that are glittered in a photograph. The process confirmed something that you all already know: I am no photographer.

I went with Blackmoor, a nice regal font for our wording “Let the trumpets sounds on the joyous occasion of Princess Caroline’s Third Birthday Celebration!” I’m happy to report a good many folks have already let me know that they are coming even ten days out! Our RSVP line was “The favour of a reply we hope you’ll make. The royal baker is requesting a count for the cake!” I thought it was playful while pointing out a hostess’ very real need for people to respond if requested.

We handed out the majority of the invitations, sending some home in school bags and delivering others personally to friends in the neighborhood. I decided to have a little fun with our royal theme. Lady Isabela of the House of Caudell, Sir Wright, Duke of Wallace, Sir Shep and Lady Katherine of the House of Kirchner. Everyone had a noble title and each envelope was embellished with a glittery snowflake. Suspect people may think I’m unbalanced, but I thought it was fun (and funny) so…

I am getting super excited! Lauren and I worked yesterday on firming up some ideas. I so love having someone to brainstorm with and bounce ideas off of. Plus, she and I feed off one another. It’s almost dangerous. Can’t wait to share pictures of the big day! I’d better get busy.

What a wild and crazy year for Pink Peppermint Paper! We finished our first full year of blogging and celebrated our fourth year in the stationery business both in late October. I worked with lots of great folks who make me feel so appreciated and creative even when I don’t always see those things in myself. Somewhere in there, Lauren and I started a party planning gig–Pink Peppermint Parties. Bought a house. Sold a house, and my family and I relocated to Mississippi. Well, all except for that “sold a house” part. Ugh. No worries. 2011 is the year. I can FEEL it!

I was taking a look back at all we’ve shared with you this year. Here are some of my faves (for one reason or another) with links back to the full posts if you’re new or just missed them the first go round.

Little Girl’s Birthday Brunch – silhouette artwork and party favors inspired by my favorite little girl

High-Flying Birthday Adventure - L.O.V.E. working this super creative mom (and my former boss). Airsick bags to hold party favors. “We’re sick to see you go”!?! Yes, we did.

Hole-in-One First Birthday – The cake. The activities. THE WHEAT GRASS. Seriously.

All in Due Time Couples Baby Shower – Eight or so hostesses all living in different cities. This had no real hope of working, but it did anyway! I love it when a plan comes together.

Backyard Birthday Carnival – Fun colors. Games. Carnival food. Yum! This post gets a LOT of hits. I think it’s because of this awesome ceiling drape!

Feather Her Nest Baby Shower – Lauren hosted this for a dear friend. Love the elements from nature as well as the pops of color inspired by the baby’s nursery. RicRac, how do I love thee?

ARTy Party Lots of colors. Fun invitation. All-time favorite themed regrets line. You’re welcome.

Lifesaver Party – Our first Pink Peppermint Parties customer celebrating a big grant for a small not-for-profit, StopSMA.org. Someone wants to pay us for this?! Yea!

Hungry for more? The bugs were too at this Bug Out Birthday – the fabulous Lauren schools us on throwing an uber creative venue birthday. Where to begin…

Heroes and Villains – I’m still tired from this party in early October–my boy’s 5th.

Setting the stage for a battle of good versus evil.

Good guys and bad stand defiant atop cupcakes, capes whipping in the wind. The industrial cupcake stand was made of dampers and such from Lowe’s gutter/roofing section. Score!

Some of the good guys watching carefully from above.

I like to include elements of fun for the adults, too. C’mon now. That’s good stuff.

Neighborhood Halloween Bash – a great mix of spooky and fun at my sister’s house!

Another Fab Golf ParTee – Here’s another fun golf-themed birthday with lots of creative touches including the sought-after Sippy Cup Trophy! Man, I love a pennant banner. And argyle. Don’t get me started.

And last are these recent bottle labels. Whip a few up for NYE!

In 2010, I also saw my business double, which is due, in no small part, to those of you who follow me, leave comments and share links with friends. Many thanks! I am truly blessed to do something I love. So looking forward to new and exciting things in the coming year! Happy New Year!

Eleanor