Hey party peeps!

I’m so excited to be a part of this HUGE giveaway where you can win $1,000 in photography equipment! It’s a photography shopping spree! Buy a DSLR camera, lighting equipment, tripod, whatever you want! NO more sub-par photos! Enter today on the Rafflecopter entry form below and good luck!

You have the opportunity to win a $1000 Photographer's Dream Shopping Spree. You can pick out anything you like from DSLR cameras to camera bags to accessories and lighting and more. Or you can opt for $1000 USD transferred to you via PayPal so that you can shop to your heart's content.

There are quiet a few amazing bloggers and vendors who came together to make this amazing giveaway possible including Spaceships and Laser Beams, Yumtastics, Go Against the Grain, Life Revolves Around Them, Mimi's Dollhouse, Not Just A Mommy, Angelina´s Dream Parties, Twinkled Spice Boutique, Hello My Sweet, Party Snobs, Inkberry Cards + Design, UR invited, Petite Bebe, Party Printables, Unlimited Party Themes, Party On! Designs, Vanessa Hankins Photography, My Garden Party, Dorothy Kurzydlowski Photography, Sugar Sugar Cakes, DimplePrints, Creative Juice Cafe, Miss Party Mom, PaperCandee, Creative Designs by Toni, Paige Simple Studio, Calamity Kate's Kitchen, Simply Creative Printables,The Way The Cookie Crumbles, Michelle's Party Plan-It, Paper and Style Co., And Everything Nice, Samantha Walker Designs, Simply Sweet Parties, Events by Kate, Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams, One Inspired Party, Kima's Konfections,This Nest is Best, Triple M Good Parties and Myour Stories Designs. And that's not even everyone!!!

More than 60 people are contributing to this contest. To see the complete list, take a look at the Rafflecopter form. As small businesses and blogs, we would never be able to offer such a cool prize, so it's a lot of fun to be able to combine forces and giveaway something so special.

Prize Details: The winner can select up to $1000 in camera equipment or supplies (including all sales taxes and shipping) to be delivered to the single destination of their choosing. The winner has the option of receiving $1000 USD in PayPal funds in lieu of receiving their prize.

The winner will be selected randomly via Rafflecopter. The odds of winning are dependent on the number of people entering. Should the winning entrant(s) not respond within 48 hours of being emailed, another winner(s) will be selected. Please ensure spaceshipsandlaserbeams [at] gmail [dot] com is on your safe email list. We would hate to have to redraw another winner!

Rules: This contest is open worldwide from May 17, 2013 at 12:01am EST to June 6, 2013 at 11:59pm EST. All entrants must be the age of the majority in their own country. Should unforeseen circumstances occur, this contest could be cancelled at any time. Void where prohibited by law.

Enter Using Our Rafflecopter Form

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This blog did not receive any money to participate or promote this contest. This giveaway is in not way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, PayPal or any camera-related company. As one of many participants, we are not responsible for logistics or prize delivery. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie at Spaceships and Laser Beams by emailing spaceshipsandlaserbeams [at] gmail [dot] com.

Hey party peeps!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or TMNT are ALL THE RAGE right now!
For moms out there that rely on licensed character party supplies to decorate your party space…NO LUCK! There are none out there right now! Seems that Nickelodeon hasn’t quite caught on just yet! Mark my words…give it a few months and TMNT party supplies will be everywhere. But…until then, you have a TMNT party coming up and no party supplies out there…so what do you do?

It’s simple…you get creative transforming ordinary items into EXTRAORDINARY PARTY DECOR & put the finishing touch on with our AMAZING Exclusive Personalized Printables AVAILABLE NOW IN OUR SHOP HERE!

For this post, I had the AMAZING talents of my newest member to the Soiree Event Design team, Katie Driver! This girl is TALENTED! She and I came up with some fabulous decor ideas and then she went to town creating these awesome DIY projects for the party taking ordinary items and making them EXTRAORDINARY! Super easy that even I can do them! All week we’ll show you how to create these fabulous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party Decorations!

Today…it’s all about the iconic TMNT TURTLE SHELLS!

CREATE TURTLE SHELL CHAIRBACK DECOR OUT OF TIN PANS!

HOW DID SHE DO THAT?

HERE’S WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
• Giant metal roasting pans
• Dark green spray paint
• Light green spray paint
• 3 inch brown ribbon
• Ninja Turtle printable collection medallions (available here)

GIRLFRIEND TIP: Dollar store tin roasting pans are perfect for this project!

HERE’S HOW YOU DO IT!

Step 1: CLEAN THE PANS
Wipe metal clean of any residue or dust.
GIRLFRIEND TIP: When spraypainting anything, don’t skip this step! It will make sure you have a smooth finish when you’re done

Step 2: SHAPE THE PANS
To give the basting pan a round shape, begin by gently pulling on the sides and working the pan into an oval/circular shape. Now that you have a round shell, add volume to the shell by pushing out the indentations of the original pan. Hide creases of original pan by pushing the metal material out towards the front of the shell. This is the finessing stage and is done to your liking.

GIRLFRIEND TIP: The metal is fragile and can be creased easily, so work slowly

Step 3: CREATE A STENCIL
For an easy application of the highlight on the turtle shells you will need to create a stencil. Buy one extra roasting pan and dedicate the pan to your stencil tool. Using a utility knife or X-acto, cut out the convex sections.

GIRLFRIEND TIP: Be careful, the metal will be sharp

Step 4: PAINT THE PANS
Begin painting the metal shells with the darker green spray paint. This will give the shell that all-over color.

GIRLFRIEND TIP: When painting metal, light, thin coats are best. This will result in an even coat with no runs. Make sure to hold the spray can 8”-12” away from the metal and build layers as they dry.

Step 5: PAINT THE HIGHLIGHTS USING THE STENCIL
Once base layer is dry, take your homemade stencil and set on top of painted shell. Using the lighter green spray pain, lightly paint the tops to highlight the turtle shell sections.

Step 6: ADD PERSONALIZED PRINTABLE MEDALLION & RIBBON
Finish the shell by adding brown ribbon by cutting two slits on each side of the shell near the edge, wind the ribbon through it on both sides.

The finishing touch? Adhere a personalized graphic medallion printable to the center circle. We created each medallion with the first initial of each guest and used the color that matched their turle place setting!

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS!

GIRLFRIEND TIP: Tie each shell on to the backs of each guest’s chair for added table decor AND the guests can wear them later! DOUBLE DUTY! GOTTA LOVE IT!

I hope this idea has inspired you to create you own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party decorations! Check back tomorrow where we show you how to make our TMNT Sewer Pipe & Manhole Cover Centerpiece!

Want to see more of our TMNT party pics…click here!

Want to get more of my tips?  Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my blog so you can get all my blog posts delivered right to your email’s inbox so you won’t miss a thing!

Subscribing is easy!  Just enter your email address in the above right corner of this page and be sure to confirm your email once you get our confirmation to your inbox!  That’s it!

Cheers!
Tonya & Katie

Hey party peeps!
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE PARTIES ARE MAKING A HUGE COMEBACK!

My 10 & 5 year old girls and nephews are HUGE fans! They literally watch is every night! My 10 year old daughter Faith asked for a TMNT party this year for her birthday, so I decided to share some of the decor ideas for her party early. I will share full party pics of the actual party including a TMNT PIZZA BAR & DRESS UP BAR & PHOTO BOOTH later in May after her actual party. She wants to have a small party of 4 with her sister and 2 cousins so they can dress up as the 4 turtles, eat pizza (TMNT’s favorite) and watch a “TMNT Marathon”!

I LOVED the idea of 4 guests because their are four Ninja Turtles so that set my creative mind in motion! I decided to really play that up and design the party around the 4 colors of each turtle and match each color to each guest so they truly took on the personality of each turtle.  I also included in the decor plan brick, metal and sewer manhole covers to give the party space a grundgy, urban, city feel.  The turtles do live in a city sewer after all!

First things first….I designed an exclusive custom set of ninja turtle party printables to complement the TMNT characters that pulled in that grundgy, urban city feel I was going for!  It’s AVAILABLE NOW IN OUR SHOP HERE.

Did you get a chance to check out my new Trend Alert: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Party post on Hostess With The Mostess? If not, you can click here to see it and see all my TMNT party tips on how to pull off a fabulous character party when there aren’t any party supplies out there!

Me & the newest member of the Soiree Event Design team, Katie Driver came up with some fabulous DIY decoration ideas. We’ll be sharing all the tutorials this week! In the meantime, check out all the custom made decor:

SEWER MANHOLE COVER BACKDROP!

SEWER PIPE MANHOLE COVER CENTERPIECE & STREET TABLE RUNNER!

NINJA TURTLE SHELL CHAIR DECOR!

PERSONALIZED NINJA TURTLE PLACESETTINGS!

All week we’ll be sharing our DIY tutorials on how to make some of the fabulous elements seen in this table design. First up…HOW TO MAKE THOSE ICONIC TMNT TURTLE SHELLS!

I’ve also created a Pinterest Board full of TMNT inspiration. Check it out here.

Want to get more of my tips?  Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my blog so you can get all my blog posts delivered right to your email’s inbox so you won’t miss a thing!

Subscribing is easy!  Just enter your email address in the above right corner of this page and be sure to confirm your email once you get our confirmation to your inbox!  That’s it!

Cheers!

Tonya

Hey party peeps!
Thanks so much to everyone for entering the giveaway!  I am excited to see the number of people who want the information in this MUST-HAVE resource.  The 3 winners are announced for “The Girlfriend’s Guide to MY Party Planning Biz!” Ezine.  Congratulations to:
Wendy S.
Jocelyn H.
Blanca (Creativities)

ALL presale copies of the Ezine have SOLD OUT, however, due to the overwhelming response, I’m EXTENDING the PRESALE price of $57 to this Friday only. CLICK HERE TO ORDER! After this Friday the Ezine will only be available on release day, May 1st, at the $97 regular price. Thanks to everyone who entered!

This is a MUST HAVE DETAILED RESOURCE for new party planners!   It contains DETAILS on my party planning business’ 6 steps to planning an event including a BONUS section on Branding & Marketing!

Reserve your copy of the “The Girlfriend’s Guide to MY Party Planning Biz!” Ezine today! I’m making available 100 copies only at the premiere price of $57. The digital ezine will release on May 1st at the regular price of $97, so don’t delay…That’s a $40 savings!  HURRY…the presale price of $57 is only available until this Friday!  So, secure your copy now.

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY AT THE $57 PRE-SALE PRICE!

I’ve only been able to share a small portion of How I Do It here in these blog posts and I have gotten so many emails and Facebook messages asking all kinds of questions about how I started my business, how I priced my services to be profitable and if I’d like to mentor some people. I would LOVE to share ALL my How I Do It tips!  If you are a party planner just starting out or are thinking about getting into the party planning business…THIS EZINE IS FOR YOU!

THE REAL DEAL…the stuff not too many other planners will tell you…things I frankly couldn’t find anywhere when I first started…I scoured the internet & purchased multiple books looking for DETAILS!   There are plenty of books and websites out there, but none of them gave me the nuts & bolts on HOW to do it or give me ACTUAL pricing…so….I’m putting it all in my exclusive…

“GIRLFRIEND’S GUIDE TO MY PARTY PLANNING BIZ!” E-ZINE
that includes all the DETAILS of my 6 Step-By-Step Party Plan including:

BONUS SECTION:  Branding & Marketing:  
• where I find my clients
• how I promote & advertise
• how I brand my business
• how I assembled a team of vendors and strategic alliances
• how I made the most of my trade show experience
• how I built a portfolio of work & inventory when I first started out
• my secret weapon that tripled my business’ earnings

Step 1:  The Client Consultation Breakdown
• the 10 questions I always ask
• how I deal with clients who have unrealistic expectations

Step 2: The Budget
• how I price my services
• how I get paid
• my terms: what I include & what I NEVER include
• when I do parties for free with a huge payoff
• how I negotiate with my clients
• when to outsource

Step 3: The Estimate
• how I breakdown my budget
• the tools I use to keep me organized
• how I handle markups
• how I price rental of my business’ decor items

Step 4: The Decor Plan
• how I present my decor plans to my clients
• my secret places I have gotten KILLER deals on must-have decor items
• my design tips for pulling off a professional themed party
• my favorite vendors & retailers for my party supplies & decor
• tips on how to get the most bang for your buck when buying decor

Step 5: Execution
• how I handle setup and breakdown
• what I do when items are broken or missing at the end of the party
• tips when working with other vendors the day of the party
• 3 things I ALWAYS do on party day!
• 3 things I NEVER do on party day!

Step 6: Recap
• what I do for my clients after the party is over
• 1 thing I ALWAYS do after my parties

I’m so excited to offer ALL OF THIS for only 100 people at the premiere PRE-SALE price of $57. The Ezine will be available May 1st and will be sent to your email address on file with Pay Pal. The price after May 1st will be $97, so don’t delay, order your copy now!  

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY AT THE $57 PRE-SALE PRICE!

Yay! I’m so excited to share this info AND hopefully inspire some of you to get out there and start your own party planning business or use some of my tools and tips to run your party planning business with confidence and with a PROFIT!  Want to know more about me?  Click here to read my bio. Thanks for all your support and many comments requesting I share this information.

Cheers!
Tonya

“The Girlfriend’s Guide to MY Party Planning Biz!” Ezine…Here’s your chance to get this MUST HAVE DETAILED RESOURCE for new party planners for FREE!   Contains DETAILS on my party planning business’ 6 steps to planning an event including a BONUS section on Branding & Marketing!

Reserve your copy of the “The Girlfriend’s Guide to MY Party Planning Biz!” Ezine today! I’m making available 100 copies only at the premiere price of $57. The digital ezine will release on May 1st at the regular price of $97, so don’t delay…That’s a $40 savings!  HURRY…there are only 10 more copies available at the presale price!  So, secure your copy now.

Don’t worry…If you purchase the guide and you win, you will be refunded the full pre-sale price via Pay Pal.  Don’t wait though as once the 10 copies are gone, the price to purchase the guide on the release date of May 1 will be back to the regular price of $97.

Giveaway is open worldwide.  THERE WILL BE 3 WINNERS!!! Winners will be contacted via email on 4/11 and must respond within 24 hours to claim their prize. The Ezine will be emailed to you on the release date of May 1, 2013.

Thanks & Good luck!  SCROLL DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST TO ENTER TO WIN!

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY AT THE $57 PRE-SALE PRICE!

I’ve only been able to share a small portion of How I Do It here in these blog posts and I have gotten so many emails and Facebook messages asking all kinds of questions about how I started my business, how I priced my services to be profitable and if I’d like to mentor some people. I would LOVE to share ALL my How I Do It tips!  If you are a party planner just starting out or are thinking about getting into the party planning business…THIS EZINE IS FOR YOU!

THE REAL DEAL…the stuff not too many other planners will tell you…things I frankly couldn’t find anywhere when I first started…I scoured the internet & purchased multiple books looking for DETAILS!   There are plenty of books and websites out there, but none of them gave me the nuts & bolts on HOW to do it or give me ACTUAL pricing…so….I’m putting it all in my exclusive…

“GIRLFRIEND’S GUIDE TO MY PARTY PLANNING BIZ!” E-ZINE
that includes all the DETAILS of my 6 Step-By-Step Party Plan including:

BONUS SECTION:  Branding & Marketing:  
• where I find my clients
• how I promote & advertise
• how I brand my business
• how I assembled a team of vendors and strategic alliances
• how I made the most of my trade show experience
• how I built a portfolio of work & inventory when I first started out
• my secret weapon that tripled my business’ earnings

Step 1:  The Client Consultation Breakdown
• the 10 questions I always ask
• how I deal with clients who have unrealistic expectations

Step 2: The Budget
• how I price my services
• how I get paid
• my terms: what I include & what I NEVER include
• when I do parties for free with a huge payoff
• how I negotiate with my clients
• when to outsource

Step 3: The Estimate
• how I breakdown my budget
• the tools I use to keep me organized
• how I handle markups
• how I price rental of my business’ decor items

Step 4: The Decor Plan
• how I present my decor plans to my clients
• my secret places I have gotten KILLER deals on must-have decor items
• my design tips for pulling off a professional themed party
• my favorite vendors & retailers for my party supplies & decor
• tips on how to get the most bang for your buck when buying decor

Step 5: Execution
• how I handle setup and breakdown
• what I do when items are broken or missing at the end of the party
• tips when working with other vendors the day of the party
• 3 things I ALWAYS do on party day!
• 3 things I NEVER do on party day!

Step 6: Recap
• what I do for my clients after the party is over
• 1 thing I ALWAYS do after my parties

I’m so excited to offer ALL OF THIS for only 100 people at the premiere PRE-SALE price of $57. The Ezine will be available May 1st and will be sent to your email address on file with Pay Pal. The price after May 1st will be $97, so don’t delay, order your copy now!  

CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY AT THE $57 PRE-SALE PRICE!

Yay! I’m so excited to share this info AND hopefully inspire some of you to get out there and start your own party planning business or use some of my tools and tips to run your party planning business with confidence and with a PROFIT!  Want to know more about me?  Click here to read my bio. Thanks for all your support and many comments requesting I share this information.

Cheers!
Tonya

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’ve teamed up with some other fabulous party blogs to bring you a blog roundup each week highlighting some cool inspiration from their blogs.  Hope you enjoy the weekly inspiration!  Click on the highlighted text links to take you to the blogs for all the details.

First up…

PARTY INSPIRATION:

Did you guys see this?  A fellow party planner, Bloom Designs was featured on the TODAY SHOW!  Yay!  Check out her Apple of Our Eye Party on the Today Show details on her blog.  This was one of my favorite parties!

Have a Baptism coming up?  BellaGrey Designs has a new Baptism Party Collection

Check out this AWESOME Superhero Party from Spaceships and Laser Beams featuring their new Superhero printable collection.

Lemon Meringue Cake anyone?  Check out This Little Mama’s recipe for Lemon Meringue Birthday Cake!  Yummy!

Frog Prince Paperie has a free Get Well Soon Card printable!  The best thing is it’s poster sized and made to be colored in by your kids!   What a great idea!

LAST MINUTE EASTER IDEAS…or if you’re like me….planning ahead for NEXT YEAR’S Easter party!

I DO NOT sew so this No sew fabric carrots for Easter from Mirabelle Creations is is right up my alley!

Need some DIY printable Easter Bunny decorations?  D and P Celebrations is showing you how!

Magnolia Creative is sharing their Easter centerpiece and flag printables

This is a cool idea to do with the kids on Easter.  Creative Juice is sharing her DIY Easter window decorations

Quick…quick….Here’s a freebie!  Print this FREE chocolate bunny printable from Cupcake Wishes and Birthday Dreams for your Easter festivities!

These super cute Chick push up pops from My Paper Pinwheel is clever and can be used for other party themes as well!

GREAT PARTY TIPS:

Party Printables is sharing tips on How To Handle It If People Don’t RSVP

Three Little Monkey Studios is sharing tips on Party Design Basics DIY Custom Party Utensils.  Tips on how to customize those trendy wooden utensils you see everywhere now!

AND A CHANCE TO WIN SOME GOODIES!

Hello My Sweet PIN IT TO WIN IT giveaway for a $50 gift certificate to Shabby Apple

Enjoy your weekend and Happy Easter!
Cheers!
Tonya

I am very careful to NEVER use licensed characters or logos in any printables that I sell in my shop, and I didn’t use any logos here either, but here is what I found out:

1.  The blue color used combined with the white bow on the printables is an infringement on their copyright

2.  The blue box used combined with the white bow I used in the decor is an infringement on their copyright even though I didn’t even use the actual iconic jewelery box!

WOW!  Luckily I hadn’t added this printable collection to my shop for sale and I designed this shower personally, I wasn’t hit with a huge lawsuit!  WHEW!   I was completely thrown for a loop and completely perplexed due to the THOUSANDS of parties out there that actually use the logo and the iconic boxes and the MANY vendors who sell the blue box and white bow combo.  Never in a million years did it cross my mind that I was doing anything wrong.  OH WELL!  LESSON LEARNED!

Thought I’d share my experience with you guys so that you don’t make this same mistake.  If you are a printables designer and you are using licensed characters or trademarked company logos on your printables that you are selling…be prepared to get a call similar to me.  Clearly companies are taking this very seriously. For me, it’s not worth a lawsuit. I’m talented enough to design printables that don’t rely on copyrighted, licensed artwork and I turn down LOTS of requests daily to design them. Hopefully now my clients will understand why I always have to say no.

Cheers!
Tonya

Vendor Credits:
Event Styling & design: Soiree Event Design
Onesie, Bib & Carriage gumpaste cupcake toppers: KupcakeSpot
Blue box fondant cupcake toppers: Lynlee’s Petite Cakes
Bling cake pops & chocolate covered oreos: The Gourmet POP
Blue flower boxes: Blumebox
Printables: Soiree Event Design
Photography: Tonya Coleman

Hey party peeps!
Today I’m sharing my Noah’s Ark Baby Shower & Party Design Tips! This shower was featured in my Look for Less post this week on Hostess With The Mostess where I shared my Top 3 Look for Less tips. If you missed it, you can click here to check it out.

As a party planner and designer I have a few tips that I use in most of my party designs and today I’m sharing 5 of them. Let’s go!

GIRLFRIEND’S PARTY DESIGN TIP #1:
USE CREATIVE WAYS TO INCORPORATE YOUR THEME!

I LOVE coming up with creative ways to interpret a party theme!  I usually don’t like to use the most common or expected ways.  For example, in this Noah’s Ark themed baby shower design, I didn’t use any water or an ark in any of the party’s decor.  Instead I used these creative ways to interpret the theme:
• blue glass gems to symbolize the water
• modern water drop on the fronts of the fondant animal’s onesies
• two of every animal used in the decor
• wavy patterned tablecloth to bring in the watery feel of the ocean

GIRLFRIEND’S LOOK FOR LESS PARTY DESIGN TIP #2:
USE ITEMS FROM THE BABY’S NURSERY TO DECORATE THE BABY SHOWER!

Want to save a BUNCH of money on decorating your baby shower? Create the shower theme around your new baby’s nursery and you SCORE! Pull out items from the room that room that you can use like:
• lamp as a centerpiece
• stuffed animals
• crib bumper to wrap your sweets table

GIRLFRIEND’S LOOK FOR LESS PARTY DESIGN TIP #3:
USE FONDANT AS PARTY DECOR!

I use this tip all the time! In fact, I think 3D fondant pieces are like little pieces of custom art! Even though they are edible, they harden enough that you can use them in your party decor! The great thing is that they are totally custom which gives your event a high-end look. Here I used matching 2 by 2 fondant animals created by Lynlee’s Petite Cakes to keep with the Noah’s Ark theme. I asked for each pair of twin animals to have on a baby onesie with a modern blue waterdrop and the other just a diaper. How cute are these! Here I used the twin baby lions in the centerpiece of a dining table.

GIRLFRIEND’S LOOK FOR LESS PARTY DESIGN TIP #4:
MIX & MATCH DIFFERENT TEXTURES & PATTERNS FOR VISUAL INTEREST!

When I design baby showers I ALWAYS use soft plush fabrics like baby blankets, stuffed animals and plush bedding to keep the look and feel cozy like a baby but I like to add in unexpected contrasting textures for a whimsical look. Here I used:
• 2 matching silver metal giraffes
• iron candlesticks to hold the fondant lions
• glass martini glasses and acrylic trays
• zebra printed pillows
• shimmery blue wavy fabric on top of brown plush blanket on the dining table
• linen stuffed animals and baby bumper
• silver bamboo textured chargers
That may sound like a lot of different textures, but when put all together right, the look is AMAZING!
Being able to mix and match patterns and textures is definitely a skill, that you should play with before you actual shower day. Don’t overdo it and use things in moderation. I am constantly setting something up, stepping back and looking at it and then editing myself by taking things away.

GIRLFRIEND’S LOOK FOR LESS PARTY DESIGN TIP #5:
USE MODERN BABY ELEMENTS THAT MATCH YOUR SHOWER’S DESIGN & COLORS!

As part of my inventory I stock up on silver and acrylic baby items as they are timeless decor and can be added to any baby shower theme to give it that high-end polished look. Here I used:
• silver baby booties
• silver rattles
• silver and acrylic pacifiers

GIRLFRIEND’S LOOK FOR LESS PARTY DESIGN TIP #6:
MATCH YOUR SWEETS TO YOUR SHOWER’S THEME AND COLORS!

This is where you can get really creative with sweets! I am not a baker so I turn to the pros to help me with any designer sweets like these fabulous animal cake pops by The Gourmet POP! I can however, decorate a store-bought sweet with either a printable label or tag or edible embellishments like candy to make them match. This tip also applies to party favors. If your party favors or sweets don’t match your party’s decor, simply place them inside a bag or box that does match and display them that way so they match. For this Noah’s Ark Baby Shower I used these sweets:
• Animal Cake Pops 2 of each animal displayed 2 by 2 on top of a sea of blue gems
• Bailey’s cupcakes
• Milk and Cookies bar with Tagalongs, Thin Mints and Samoas Girl Scout Cookies

WHERE DID SHE GET THAT?
3D animal fondant toppers: Lynlee’s Petite Cakes
Animal cake pops: The Gourmet POP
Photography: Stay Classic Photography
Linen stuffed animal lions and giraffes: Pottery Barn Kids
Linen animal crib bumper: Pottery Barn Kids
Mod lamp base & Ikat dot lamp shade: PBteen
Shimmery blue wavy fabric: JoAnn Fabrics
Metal giraffes: TJ Maxx

That’s it! Do you have any party design tips you want to share? Leave a comment below…I’d love to hear them.

Hope you found some inspiration for your upcoming baby shower!  Want more party tips?  I’m giving LOADS of details on my event planning biz in my new E-zine “The Girlfriend’s Guide to MY Party Planning Biz!  Available for presale now here.  

WANT TO GET MORE TIPS?  Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to my blog so you can get all my blog posts delivered right to your email’s inbox so you won’t miss a thing!  Subscribing is easy!  Just enter your email address in the above right corner of this page and be sure to confirm your email once you get our confirmation to your inbox!  That’s it!

Cheers!
Tonya

If you like these Look for Less posts I’ve been doing, please leave  a comment on the HWTM post with your thoughts.  I’d love to hear from you
Cheers!
Tonya

Today I’m bringing you some goodies from around the web!  It’s a blog roundup!  Let’s Go!
Click on the links to go to the blogs…

First up…Spaceships and Laserbeams…one of my favorite party blogs for ALL THINGS BOYS!
Check out this boy’s BUG birthday party full of creepy crawlers!

Feeling crafty? There’s LOTS of DIY tutorials…sure to keep you busy this weekend.

Check out this DIY faux flower arrangement tutorial from One Little Mama. She shows you how to DIY a $150 faux flower arrangement for $20!

DIY Ombre Cake Stand? OH YES!!!! Check out My Paper Pinwheel’s DIY tutorial on making an Ombre painted cake stand!

Looking for a cool Spring Favor for your spring parties? How about making super cute spring favor boxes out of sour cream containers! Super easy with this sour cream container tutorial by D & P Celebrations.

Easter is fast approaching and there are LOTS of fabulous Easter inspiration out there. Check these out:

Printable Seersucker & Bow Ties Easter Collection and party from Mirabelle Creations.

FREE Printable Easter Party from Hello My Sweet.

FREE Printables and Easter ideas from Magnolia Creative.

This one is super sweet! Marshmallow Peeps Easter ideas from Cupcake Wishes and Birthday Dreams.  All kinds of ideas on how to use those marshmallow peeps.

How about a kid-friendly recipe for Easter Bunny Food! A cute idea for an Easter Party activity from Bloom Designs.

Bella Grey Designs has a new Easter Chevron Party Collection!

Next week is Spring Break and will be looking for things to do with the kiddos. Thanks to Party Printables for sharing her Top 10 Children Party Games!

And if sweets are your thing…like me…I must admit!

One of my favorites Frog Prince Paperie is sharing Easter Desserts including a Mini-Lemon-Raspberry Trifle PERFECT for Easter dinner dessert!

And Creative Juice has her Rainbow French Macarons featured that shows you how to use M&M’s to decorate plain macaroons with rainbows!

Last by not least…DON’T WE ALL LOVE SOMETHING FREE?
For all my new mommies out there…Everything Mommyhood is giving away a Boba Carrier!

Hope you liked this week’s blog roundup! Tell me…What fabulous finds have you come across this week?

Cheers!
Tonya