Pink Peppermint Blogger

A few months back, Emily came to me through mutual friends I’d worked with. She had a fishing-themed birthday in mind to celebrate her son, Jack’s 4th birthday and their life-long love of the water. Her desire to use family photos and heirloom fishing items drove the vintage look and feel. After much searching, she decided she wasn’t going to find what she had in mind for invitations, so we talked about some custom options. Here are a few of the versions I created for her.

This last one was the one Emily decided on. She felt it best incorporated her “Hooked on 4″ idea.

Enjoy the pictures Emily shared and the party details as told by her!

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We have a pond in our backyard and we often walk down to feed the fish and just play around in the water. Jack loves being outside, playing in the dirt, picking up worms and of course “hooking” up anything he can scoop up in his net. I also share the same passion for being outdoors and close to the water. I am from the Coast, and my Dad’s parents always had us on the water!

When I began tossing the idea around as a possibility,  I thought it would be fun to incorporate some of our family heirloom pictures, cane poles and cast nets that belonged to both my Granddaddy and Papa. I started to think of colors and wanted to create a vintage, simple, classic look.

After shopping around on the internet and in and out of stationery stores, I remembered Pink Peppermint’s wonderful creations! Eleanor helped bring my idea to life and the party was fabulous! We had a fish fry to celebrate “our fly guy” and I put snack chips in an old fishing basket – “fish and chips.”

We also served boiled shrimp and smoked tuna dip. For our non-seafood guest, we served corn dip, party sandwiches and cupcakes, of course!

I had a galvanized oval tub and filled it with water and plastic fish. I attached a mini tin bucket to a cane pole with fishing line to scoop up the fish for a fun activity!

I decorated these mason jars with red raffia and had Swedish fish and gummy worms for their “fresh catch” or their “live bait”…This was a huge hit!  There wasn’t a fish or gummy worm left over!!!

Adorable party, Emily! Thanks for letting me be involved, and a happy 4th year to Jack! I think as the weather continues to warm up, this is a great theme to keep in mind for spring and summer months too!

I love to share Lauren’s parties. They are so chocked full of thoughtful detail, and this one is no different. Her oldest boy just turned three, and he is a Buzz Lightyear aficionado. OK, that may be an understatement. Since his last birthday, The Children’s Museum of Mississippi has opened. There’s a retro rocket right in their logo, and the kids absolutely LOVE to spend a day there immersed in the hands-on activities. Plus, there is A/C, which in Mississippi in July, is a game changer.

Lauren already had the venue, the rocket theme and a color scheme in mind when we started talking birthday, so I whipped up this invitation.

The party was right at noon, so the idea was to get the kids in the party room first, knowing they’d all be chomping at the bit to play. We fed them some lunch, had cake and released them into the museum as they were ready to play until they dropped. I created some large-scale printable party signage, a Pink Peppermint first. The first stop was the Party Room.

When everyone arrived it was lunch time, so the boys and girls settled in and went to work at tables covered in dark blue butcher paper. They ate from silver star-shaped plates and enjoyed UFO PB&Js, star shaped graham crackers and fresh fruit.

To drink, there was Zimbi Super Alien Juice. It’s awesome, because not only are the bottles cool looking and shaped like rockets, but also because when the drink is gone they fly! Seriously? Yes!

The kids also got these awesome alien cake pops from Mom’s Killer Cakes.

I love the way these alien pipe cleaner napkin rings turned out. Super cute, inexpensive and right on theme!

UFO sandwiches were made using Uncrustables, alien finger puppets and the clear base from gumball machine containers. Adorable!

Here’s the fresh fruit skewered on these cute silver star picks.

And here’s one of my favorite elements–a little craft pack of stickers, crayons and glitter glue that invited guests to decorate their space. How creative is that? They went to town too. Right on the butcher paper. It was great because it gave those waiting for others to finish eating something to do before the cake was served.

And while the kids ate, moms and dads had a chance to fuel up too.

There were chicken nuggets, fresh fruit, chips and other goodies like Orbit gum, starbursts and starlight mints! Love it.

And since everyone was likely to stay and play in the museum for a couple of hours, they also got these awesome space age to-go packs of Black Holes (mini Oreos), Nuts and Bolts, Shuttle Smoke (popcorn) and freeze-dried Fruit in Space. The sign read “Take Me to Your Leader.”

And when they were done with their plates, they knew where to find the trash can, labeled “Space Junk.”

There was also a chance to play Pin the Tail on the Comet. I was excited about this one. It’s Pink Peppermint’s first ever printable party game!

Finally, the moment they were all waiting for. Cake. How cute! I love the cloud effect of the icing. The bakery matched it to the invitation.

And here’s the birthday boy making his wish! They turned out the lights while he blew out the candles, and the look of pure magic on his face watching everyone sing was priceless!

Only a couple more pieces of business to attend to before turning the kids loose on the museum. Party favors were made from these great, oversized candy capsules. We added some simple paper rings to turn them into goody-filled flying saucers.

Included were toy laser guns, starbursts, bite-size milky way candy bars, glow-in-the-dark stars, spring-loaded martians, suckers and other treats.

The message read “Hope you had a stellar time!”

Guests also got a sticker to wear and filled their pockets with take-home snacks before they left the party area.

Out in the museum the kids pushed, pulled, moved and squirted, loaded, built, digested and then did it all again.

What a great celebration! Happy 3rd birthday, buddy!

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!

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!