Pink Peppermint Blogger

Well, I finally did it. I threw one of the MANY non-birthday related parties that I dream up.

Yea me!

This time, we were celebrating the addition of sweet Miss Buttercup to our family. Seemed like as good an excuse as any to have friends over and eat junky food, no?

I felt a bit of urgency to have the party quickly before we got swallowed up by fall commitments and she didn’t look like a puppy anymore.

She is gaining three lbs a week, and is already quite the hoss.

Anyhoo, I just bit the bullet and distributed invitations one Tuesday to force myself to kick things into gear. We had it on a Friday after school but before dinner time.

Here’s the invitation if you missed it.

Guests were invited to come “smooch our new pooch” and to please respond to “the alpha female”. (That’s me.)

Note: when folks at Milk Bones say, “Mini” they mean it. Are those the cutest, tiniest things you’ve ever seen?

Door sign: because our doorbell is pitiful and things were loud.

We had several small pawty tables set up on the back patio.

The kids used frisbees as plates and drank from these cute bone straw sippers.

I made these little tags for everyone’s cup so we could keep up with whose drink was whose. I think they kind of look like dog tags! Must be my subconscious keeping tightly to theme.

Inside we had all the pawty food set up. Here’s the doggy-themed topiary I made for the table. My husband balked at the use of the word “topiary” here, but you see it don’t you?

Never question the alpha female.

You know I love a thematic food selection, and our puppy is a yellow lab named Buttercup (who we sometimes call “Butter” because, let’s face it, “Buttercup” is a mouthful when you’re pleading for mercy with a puppy to let go of the very last pair of yoga pants you own that she hasn’t already bitten holes in).

We served Butterscotch Blondies and Puppy Chow, that yummy mix with Crispex, chocolate, PB and powdered sugar.

For a little something salty we had Cheese Nips and Buttered Popcorn. I made this super sweet and completely addictive Lemon Bark.

We also had Butter Cookies, which make me smile. As kids, we used to eat them off our pinky fingers in Sunday School. Anyone else?

Since my son is named Reese, and we sometimes use the word “peanut” around here as a term of endearment, I set out a bowl of Reese’s Peanut Buttercups! I wonder if I can make that her registered name. Hmmm…

Any finally, drumroll please…

My very first (and probably last) attempt at cake pops.

Or as we called them, “cake pups.” Not too shabby if I do say so myself. The kids really liked them, and my boy immediately requested I make some for his birthday. Whoa, there tiger!

The stand, if you can call it that, was a Wilton cardboard number that you can use to hold them during the dipping and drying process.

I reinforced it with some hot glue and dressed it up with a large lime green paw print cutout.

Confession time: I don’t care for the taste of a cake pop. Gasp! This is why I will likely never make them again. That and the sizable PITA it is to bake, cool, crumble, mix, cool, roll, cool, stick, cool, dip, cool and so on. And these were just regular plain ol’ balls of cake. I am in complete awe of all of you cake pop making phenoms out there even more so than I was before! I am very pleased with the fab tips from my FB fans on how to avoid cake pop disaster. Thanks, y’all!

Back to the pawty…

We served sparkling lemonade. I dressed up the drink dispenser with a ribbon and some D-rings to mimic a dog collar and threw on the new tag for Buttercup that we haven’t put on her yet.

And what’s a pawty without music? Not much of a pawty at all, if you ask me. Among other songs, we played:

George Clinton – Atomic Dog

Baja Men – Who Let the Dogs Out?

Rufus Thomas – Walkin’ the Dog

The Foundations – Build Me Up, Buttercup

George Thorogood – Bad to the Bone

Arrested Development – Wag Your Tail

Widespread Panic – Walkin’ (For Your Love)

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse – Hot Dog!

Here’s our girl on the prowl. Estimated number of Milk Bones consumed that day: 752.

I know that furrowed look on her brow. It can only mean one of two things:

1) I don’t like this at all.

2) You should run. I am going to eat you now.

This particular time, it was No. 2. Lucky me.

When guests left, they each took home a frisbee plate, bone cup, an XL bone cookie and a doggie bag of assorted goodies for their S, M or L pooches–a sWAG bag, if you will.

Terrorizing all those kids makes a pooch bone tired.

Welcome to the family little girl!

My Caroline is the princess-loving tough as nails variety of little girl. A sweet jumble of contradictions. The kind of girl you only get from having an older brother in the house. It’s hard to predict what she’ll come up with next, but when it came to her 3rd birthday celebration, she and I decided we’d combine two of her current faves–princesses and snow!

In case you missed it, here’s the invitation. We handed out the majority of them so I got a little playful with addressing them. There were Ladies, Dukes and even Barons on the invitation list.

Here’s the glitter embellishment on the envelope.

Guests were welcomed to Castle Touchet with these grapevine wreaths spray painted silver and flocked with snow.

Inside where it was warm, the royal banquet table stretched out underneath a sky of falling snow.

We had snowflake crowns for the boys and tiaras for the girls.

Princess Caroline’s birthday throne at the head of the table was all wrapped up in a bow and set off with her royal portrait.

Laid out on a blanket of snow down the center of the table were snow globes filled with a different royal and snowy scenes.

A royal crown, a snowy church, a silver slipper, and a Victorian ice skate among others.

The princess one turned out to be my favorite!

After everyone checked out our stash of toys, it was time to eat!

Our centerpiece was made up of sparkly winter branches embedded in a vase of snow.

We had simple breakfast foods like sausage balls, mini muffins, pigs in a blanket and fresh fruit on these snowflake skewers.

The crowd favorites were these donut snowmen.

And look. There’s our dainty little princess enjoying one now!

The kids also really went for these marshmallow pops.

They had juice from these sweet little cups that come with snap on lids so they don’t spill.

I decked them out in royal fashion with some ribbon and scrapbooking embellishments.

And for the adults we had hot chocolate and coffee.

The mantle was decorated with a glittery snow village and castle.

And since it was a surprisingly mild January day {naturally}, we set up a play table of snow outside.

We had a few scoops and buckets and those kiddos went to town!

Then everyone headed back inside for cake. The birthday girl was feeling unusually shy as everyone sang.

Then there was more playing in the snow before everyone said their goodbyes.

As party favors, everyone got snow powder so they could make their own snow at home.

We had a great time celebrating with the birthday girl and a sweet group of friends for her first big girl party. Happy third birthday sweet Caroline!

Sources:

Large/Small Ripple Cups, Clear Favor Boxes – Think Garnish

Invitations, Paper Crowns, Cup Wraps, Favor Tags – Pink Peppermint Paper

Cake – Dream Cakes

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

As we return to the story, we find our team of heroes and villains heading back outside….

Our super friends were greeted with tables perfectly outfitted (and caped) for both the good and the bad to pump up their muscles and enjoy some of that SUPER hero sandwich.

WOW! Even the balloons were perfectly outfitted for the occasion.

Let’s pause our story for a minute and talk about how adorable these Pink Peppermint Paper balloon costumes are. A perfect accompaniment to the theme. And our supermom stashed them everywhere—inside, front door and food tables. AWESOME!

About as awesome as the super weights holding them down. GENIUS!

But that’s not all…

Tune in next time to see what sweet surprises supermom has in store.

Click here if you missed the super food and drink or here to see the invitation. And for pity sake, if you’re reading (and we know you are) be one of the good guys and leave us a little comment. Thanks and have a super day!

Hi there. Lauren here again. Back with more from the big day…

Our party begins on an unusually warm October day in the metropolis of Madison. Our birthday hero and his band of super friends began gearing to meet and celebrate Reese’s big day. Why, even our villains were excited about this extraordinary meeting of both the good and the bad.

Outside, the stage was set for the caped tots to face off in supermom’s awesome box village. WOW! What an awesome way to use old moving boxes and guarantee literal squeals of delight from heroes of all ages. In addition to painting and adding the great window details, Eleanor even cut a path through the middle so the kids could hide and play inside, while some super tunes from the birthday boy’s own heroes and villains iPod playlist filled the air.

Opposite the life-size village was a mini creation for some of super boy’s favorite plastic heroes and villains to duke it out in.

Meanwhile, back inside…

Supermom laid out a spread for our hungry heroes and famished villains that consisted of what else—a 6-foot hero sandwich and ONE-TWO Punch to drink. YUM!

Not to mention the plates and napkin sets. Will you eat with the good or dine with the bad? Make your choice….

To Be Continued.

Miss the invitations? Check them out here.

I’m giving Lauren a much-needed break, so I’ll be the one to tell you about her son’s second birthday! Quite frankly, there’s some gushing to be done, and it’s much easier to gush about someone else’s party than it is your own. The party was so very cute, and I have so many pictures that I don’t even know where to begin, but here goes…

Pink Peppermint Parties has been all abuzz over the details for Lauren’s son’s 2nd birthday. No flies on us, for sure. For those of you who don’t remember or weren’t following me very early on, this is the adorable party she worked up for his 1st birthday.

This year’s theme was Bugs, and the challenge was to make it a party any boy would be proud of but also keep it sweet for a birthday boy still knee high to a grasshopper. We set the mood with this invitation design.

The munched edges turned out to be one of my favorite little details! Lauren even munched the flap on the envelope. Love it.

Party goers handed over these sluggy buggies to gain entrance to the Museum park. Now onto the BIG day!

The festivities were held at an outdoor pavilion. Each table had a sweet, grassy centerpiece complete with all types of creepy critters centered around these pint-sized, colorful arrangements of fly swatters and a butterfly net–all planted like flowers in large Mason jars.

Every kiddo had a place set with these stinkin’ adorable bug boxes that were personalized in buggy fashion with their names.

Also, waiting for them were butterfly nets, magnifying glasses, Build-A-Bug gummies, and these bug-eyed party hats.

There were bug-themed coloring sheets and crayons too!

How sweet is the little ladybug on that bunch of crayons? Swoon. I ran to get my camera when I saw them. I am SUCH a sucker for little details like that.

There was also an adorable game table with bug-themed puzzles, a bubble machine  (aka “the Fogger”) and COOTIE! Remember that game? Ahhh, memories…

Before lunch and cake, everyone enjoyed a bug hunt on the lawn. The kids grabbed their nets and had a great time searching for all the different kinds of bugs. Here’s the birthday boy in action.

Then it was time to munch. Note the hand sanitizer in that adorable buggy dispenser. Lauren really thought of everything!

I love the munched plates and the napkin rings too. I held one out to my two-year-old to take and she jumped a foot when she saw that spider on her napkin.

There were Slug Sliders, Roly Poly pinwheels, P, Bee and Js, Ants on a Log, Grub Worm Fruit Skewers and Bugs in a Rug.

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On such a hot summer day, the kids cooled off with what else but Bug Juice!

The adults enjoyed their drinks from these adorable homemade bug jars.

I designed the butterfly, bee and ladybug straw critters and cut them with a newly acquired piece of equipment. I was so excited by how they turned out! Rest assured there is much more party stuff along these lines shaping up!

After lunch, everyone made a beeline to the dessert table, which was highlight by delightful mosquito netting that had caught paper butterflies and ladybug hairclips, handmade by the birthday boy’s grandmother, for the girls to take home.

We also made a birthday banner with our new equipment and hung it with grosgrain ribbon behind the dessert table. It’s a little hard to see here, but it read “Happy Bday” and had a cutout of a bee in place of the letter.

The cake was a yummy chocolate bumblebee. How cute is that? I loved the antennae.

We did these cupcake wrappers with a sweet little plaid bee buzzing along for the delicious vanilla cupcakes.

And what dessert table is complete without a few grub worm gummies?

The birthday boy made his wish and everyone dug in. Look at that big boy in his buggy outfit. Too cute!

When kids and parents were all bugged out, they all headed into the Museum to cool off and have some more fun before heading home. Here’s the sticker they got before leaving.

Happy 2nd Bee-day sweet Wright!

I have a treat for you today. A guest post from Lauren, my accomplice at Pink Peppermint Parties. Enjoy! And don’t forget to leave a comment!

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A couple of weekends ago, several friends flocked together to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a tweet baby girl. This brunch shower stole its theme from her adorable nursery, which features a brown, pink and teal color scheme, polka dots, green gingham, lots of rick-rack ribbon and, of course, birds! It made for a fun and festive way to celebrate the nesting mommy-to-be.

First things first, here’s the invitation!

Birds seem to be all the rage in the party world this season. Go ahead…I dare you to Google bird shower. It’s overwhelming! However, Eleanor and I wanted this event to be as unique as the guest of honor, so we created lots of touches all our own. Take this “bird on a wire” giftline for instance. A spin off the common clothesline version, this one was crafted out of grapevine twine and had paper birds attached to clothespins perched on the line and holding the gifts. Please note that many of the birds are replicas of those found on the invitation—the paper patterns, too. I love consistency!

And a big thanks to a certain retailer for having the PERFECT assortment of precious bird inspired clothes to hang on the line.

Next up…the food! The table featured a beautiful floral arrangement in a copper container, bird statuettes and fun “nest” bowls for jams and jellies. We certainly did not eat like birds will all the delicious options this brunch buffet had to offer.

Each brunch item was labeled with these festive bird menu cards.

The table also featured napkin and flatware sets dressed with a gingham ribbon bellyband, an actual twig (spray painted white and crackled) and finished with a paper bird cut out.

Some of our paper bird friends were also found perched on drink glasses.

One of the hostesses took the invitation to her baker and together they whipped up this fantastic (and super delicious) cake which announced the little chick’s new initials.

Decorating the cake table was a square glass vase filled with birdseed and two long branches also spray painted white and crackled like the twigs on the napkins. Scattered on the branches were an assortment of feathered friends cut from the same paper and in the style as those found on the line. They were attached using mini clothes pins.

Remember these adorable paci mints Eleanor made for the “All In Due Time” shower? Well, they made the perfect addition to these mint nests, which were placed in gathering areas around the home.

Can you spot the adorable little nest the florist added to the arrangement for the drink table?

Finally, since no one should leave a party empty handed, we created these little favors for the guests. They were set up next to the door in a galvanized tin bucket on a stand so it didn’t take someone with eagle eyes to find them. Inside the bucket, birdseed anchored the favors and a lone branch with one bird holding a card let the guests know to take a favor to their nest. At the base stood a wooden birdhouse

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Inside the brown paper favor bags was a birdseed ball crafted from bird-friendly foam, peanut butter and birdseed. A piece of pink rick-rack ribbon was fashioned as the hanger.

And finally, the bag closed with a coordinating paper bird perched on a mini clothes pin. On the outside, a thank you message to each guest on a 2×2 card that matched the invitation.

What a fun celebration for a mommy-to-be who is truly a rare bird and a friend like no other. We wish her all the best as she nests and waits for her tweet baby girl to arrive.

A few months back, I had a customer come to me with an idea for her son’s first birthday party. Golf! I confess that, having no golf enthusiasts in my family, I was a little thrown at first. But soon, Amaris and I both got swept up in the fun ideas, the bright colors and a hint at warmer weather in the bleak winter months. I just couldn’t wait to see how it all turned out, and I’m here to tell you, this mama did NOT disappoint. Prepare to have your argyle socks knocked off as you enjoy Amaris’ account of Bradley’s Hole-in-One First Birthday!

The cake was amazing!  I loved the whimsical “topsy-turvy” golf flags! To make the cake display, I purchased an 18″ round plastic tray from the party store and covered the tray with about an inch of potting soil.  I put a small bowl in the center of the tray to reserve space for a clear glass cake stand to hold the cake.  (my cake stand measured 11″ in diameter and the cake was 10″)

and here is the matching smash cake…

I tried to carry out the “one” theme and use circles when possible, like on the stickers and favor tags. I made a Happy Birthday banner out of red felt to resemble a string of golf flags, which hung behind the cake table.  I also found yellow hand clappers, or, golf claps as I like to call them.

Playing A Round

Our “sand trap” was created out of a huge galvanized tub which was filled with several bags of playground sand and plastic golf balls.  I placed the tub on artificial turf cut to look like a golf green.

The kids loved playing in the sand!

I found a Par 3 Mini Golf Course made by Step 2 toys, which was fun! It was a great interactive toy for parents and kids. The older kids especially enjoyed it, and I even saw a few daddies testing out their putting skills, too!

Here’s our birthday boy trying out his skills.

I also borrowed my nephew Jack’s golf cart rocker.  It was the perfect photo-op for parents and the kids loved taking turns going for a “ride.”

Par-tee Eats and Treats

We served typical golf course style food–mini hot dogs, chips and rotel dip, mac and cheese and fruit.  At the last minute, I found some straw sipper cups online which were on mega clearance from Christmas and just so happened to be red and lime green with coloring page inserts.  I had tons of felt left over from making the golf flags and birthday banner, so I got creative and cut felt inserts with each guest’s first initial to personalize each cup.  They were perfect!

We also had stickers to give out that said, “I played a round at Bradley’s 1st Birthday!”

I must admit, with all the excitement, I totally forgot to give out the precious stickers at the party.  Booo mama.  However, I did put stickers in each thank you note, which, I think worked well, too! Here are our thank you notes.

I loved the Hole-in-One Par-tee theme!  Most importantly, the design work that Pink Peppermint Paper did truly set the tone for the party and made it extra special.  I really enjoyed that I was able to be so involved with the designs and incorporate my ideas.

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Thanks for sharing Amaris! What an amazing job and a big day with their little boy! Happy 1st Birthday Bradley!