Custom Design Work February 17, 2014

I love it when clients contact me with their color inspirations and theme. They provide some basic requisites- such a font, the background pattern they need, colors, etc and I turn their concepts into tangible products that they can print off and use to bring a special touch to their event.

My client, Brandi, needed something modern and hip for a bridal shower she’s throwing next month. She needed yellow, teal and white and asked specifically for a chevron print. Below is the inspiration that she provided and the cupcake toppers and the water bottle wrappers that I created for her.

 

As always, you can visit my Etsy store, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or email me: apartystudio@gmail.com

 

 

 

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Inexpensive and Fun Party Glasses :: Starbucks or Archer Farms Frappucino Bottles! August 30, 2013

I love putting out these tall glasses at parties. They look adorable with a paper straw and maybe some ribbon or personalized labels to jazz them up a bit. If you missed my blog post about cleaning these Starbucks Frappuccino bottles to get them party-ready, you can check it out here. At my daughter’s recent 6th birthday party, one of the things the little girls went nuts over was drinking out of these! Funny how its the little things like that which have the most impact.

Here are the bottles from a few different celebrations that I hosted this past year… aren’t they so versatile?

Anyways, I wanted to do a quickie blog post because when I was shopping at Target the other day, I noticed the Archer Farms Latte drinks. I didn’t buy any so I can’t tell you how they taste but they are slightly cheaper than the Starbucks version and I liked that the corners were more rounded so they looked like old fashioned milk jugs. Of course, I grabbed my phone and snapped a few pics. What do you think of the shape of these? Has anyone tried the coffee? I’m sure it’s good and these are low-fat, too. I actually really like the Archer Farm products, especially the chips and granola bars.

All the party photos posted above were taken by Danielle of All Things Great and Small Photography in Pace, Milton. The out of focus pics of the the bottles were taken by me on my iphone. And yes, I did get some dubious looks from other shoppers when I got down on my knees to photograph these!!!

Please follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest! You can also contact me via e-mail: apartystudio@gmail.com

I love hearing your feedback and if you have any questions or need clarification, just leave me a comment on this blog post. Thanks… and happy party planning!

Valentine’s Day: treats that you can make at home! January 31, 2012

The best part of Valentine’s Day for me is getting to indulge in a little something sweet! I love dessert and when it is pink and has a heart on it, who can resist? Here are some gorgeous treats that you can whip up at home. Just click on any of the photographs below to get to the recipe!

I hope one of these ideas will inspire you. Let us know if you make any of these and how it turned out 🙂

Chocolate Heart Peanut Butter Cookies from Betty Crocker. How cute are these? I love that the directions call for a store-brought cookie mix! Very easy. I’m thinking this would be a fun activity with a toddler. They’d love placing the Dove heart in the center.

If your baking skills are a little more advanced, you can try making these adorable Valentine’s Day Heart Cookie Sandwiches by Make and Takes. Again, you could definitely do this with a toddler or child.

Pink Lemon Cupcakes by Just Jenn Recipes. I love lemon anything so these look amazing to me! These would also be super sweet if you are doing a Pink Lemonade birthday party.

Heart-shape Macaroon by Trang’s Kitchen. Have you ever made macaroons? I think they are to-die-for but I’ve never had the guts to make these. Maybe next time my mum is visiting, we can attempt whipping up some!

My husband loves ice-cream so these Chocolate Heart Ice Cream Sandwiches by Pieces of Home Designs are sure to be a huge hit in our house!

Lollipop sticks turn plain cupcakes into these adorable Cupid’s Arrow Cupcakes! Thanks for the tutorial and free download, Bakerella. I think these would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day social or toddler play group.

Brownie Heart Cupcakes by Martha Stewart are also really cute. Martha of course makes everything from scratch but if you don’t feel like following her recipes and making brownies and cupcakes then you could get store-brought mixes instead. Or cheat even further- buy a pan of ready made brownies and some cupcakes from your local bakery and then use your cookie cutter to make the brownie hearts!!!!

Not too Barney-ish Birthday Party September 1, 2011

 

I love you… you love me!! Who doesn’t love the big friendly dinosaur, Barney! He is still really popular! Sometimes though we want to throw a themed party and not go too over the top with the character. So, here’s a few suggestions for a Barney themed party that’ll appeal as much to the grown ups as the children!

Check out these delightful Etsy finds!

Color Scheme

I’d stick to a purple-white-dark grey (or black) color palette. This keeps the look sleek and simple! If the party is for a boy then add GREEN! And of course, Barney is known as the PURPLE dinosaur. Decorations could include a pennant style Happy Birthday banner. This could be tied together with black or white tulle. Cupcake toppers could feature the child’s name, Happy Birthday, and the age. No party would be complete without buffet table labels.

 

Kids Activities

Set up an activity table with crafts and coloring pages. Include Barney stickers and construction paper. If the kids are mostly under four years of age, this will not hold their attention for too long. I highly recommend paying an entertainer and have Barney make a special appearance at the party! The kids could have photos taken with Barney. They’ll love watching their image appear on an old fashioned polaroid! Barney’s companion could read Barney stories and get the kids to do some dancing!

 

Party Favors

Adults: How about purple sugar for cocktails? And the recipe for your signature drink. I could make personalized labels to stick on top! Or fill cute Chinese take out boxes with white chocolate dipped fortune cookies or go the whimsical route with dinosaur shaped soap.

Kids: Head to your local Target or Walmart store and pick up a bunch of Barney coloring books, stickers, pencils, dinosaur-shaped crayons, and toys!  Fill purple buckets with your finds! How about some bubbles? I can make personalized labels for these! Of course, tutu ribbon wands are sure to make the girls smile.

 

 

Dessert table

Cake pops, chocolate covered oreo cookies, monogrammed iced cookies and vanilla cupcakes are sure to be a huge hit with both kids and grown ups! Remember to add height to your dessert table to keep it looking amazing. A simple cupcake stand is the easiest way to do this. Or you could put your dish of cookies on a pretty stand. If you can’t find something that you love then think about wrapping a shoe box with white paper and then tying a wide purple ribbon around the box. You could even put out a bowl of extra large purple grapes.

 

Drink station

Prepare a custom purple cocktail with a signature name. Something like “Jonesing for Purple” (if your last name is Jones). You could even do a non-alchoholi purple punch for the kids. If you have white carpet, you may want to avoid the purple punch for the kids unless you also supply an adequate number of no-sill sippy cups.

Finishing touches

Add some helium filled Barney Mylar balloons and strategically place some plush Barney dolls around your party setting! You could also do some purple and white tissue pompoms!

Got any other party suggestions for a grown up Barney party? We’d love to hear them!

Watermelon Season! May 30, 2011

Wishing everyone a lovely Memorial Day weekend… picnics, parades, family time all whilst honoring our fallen service members. Today, we’ll be heading to a parade in CT where our friend’s oldest son will be marching with the Young Marines and thinking of friends and family who are no longer with us. I try to keep my blog very light, fun and upbeat but wanted to mention the true meaning of Memorial Day.

Unofficially, Memorial Day marks the start of the summer season! Especially here in New England where we see sailboats in the water and crowds in Newport! I want to share a lovely, fresh treasury with you.

Watermelon– red, green, white and black. So delicious and refreshing. Doesn’t it make you think of summer days?

 

Watermelon treasury

 

 

Curator notes

 

Thank you tutuchicboutique for including my mini ribbon flag cupcake toppers in your beautiful treasury! And I agree- I am happy that is becoming watermelon season too! In a couple weeks, we’ll have moved to the Florida panhandle and I see lots of beach days for our family this summer… as well as our first family vacation for three years!

 

Under the Sea May 9, 2011

Ever since learning to SCUBA dive, I have been obsessed with Under the Sea stuff for my little girl! The baby shower had an Under the Sea theme, her nursery featured Under the Sea bedding by Tiddliwinks. That was also the theme for her 2nd birthday party. You’d think I’d get fed up by now but no… I still love it and was so excited when I spotted these kid plates at Pottery Barn Kids recently. It is perfect… a mermaid and a dolphin for my daughter, a shark and crab for my son! Totally cute.

Pottery Barn Kids

PBK Under the Sea place mats

And to complete this sea-inspired collection, here is the cute matching utensils. Perfect for rounding out your festive summer table.

Espadrille-stripe utensils

Doesn’t this collection make you want to go dive in the sea?

Bring on the warmer weather so the kids can play under the sprinklers and we can enjoy our dinners outside!

Neapolitan Inspiration April 27, 2011

I am a team leader in an Etsy bow making group. I’ve met the most amazing ladies through this team. Recently, we were discussing sources of inspiration and color combinations. Most of us look at children’s clothes, magazines, catalogues such as Pottery Barn to find inspiration. Sometimes though, inspiration comes from unusual sources…

Back in January, I saw the most beautiful cake. Check this out:

Neapolitan cake

Sliced cake

How adorable? I love that on the outside, it looks like a bog standard cake with pink frosting and white sprinkles. What an amazing surprise when you slice it and discover layers of deliciousness! I am determined to make one of these for my daughter’s upcoming 4^th birthday (gulp- wish me luck!). My baking skills leave a lot to be desired so I’ll be using store brought cake mixes in strawberry, classic vanilla, and of course chocolate (or maybe devil’s food cake). Gotta love Betty Crocker.

I have a month before I have to put my baking to the test. In the meanwhile though I was inspired to create a pink, white and brown loopy hair bow. This bow is 4 inches in diameter and has three layers…. I think I will make another one where each layer is a different color.

Triple loopy bow

Side view

And to represent the pink and white on the outside of the cake:

Pink and white bow

And check out the inside-out Neapolitan cake! Doesn’t this make your mouth water?

Inside out neapolitan cake

Thank you Sweetapolita for the delicious inspiration!

Fancy making a loopy bow? Check out the tutorial!

Easter Bow Baskets April 8, 2011

How gorgeous is this Easter bow basket? Wouldn’t a special little girl in your life love getting one of these? And putting this together is so much fun! I used silk flowers to decorate this basket. You can get super create though and use tulle, wide organza ribbon, stickers, felt cut outs, etc.

Easter bow basket

Top view

 

If you don’t celebrate Easter then you can easily transform the package into a spring time basket! Silk flower hair clips are perfect for that. I took this arrangement of silk flower clips and created a beautiful basket.

Silk flower hair clips

Springtime bow basket

Spring basket

The above basket is for a 13 month old little girl. So, she doesn’t have too much hair- yet. No hair? No problem! In the basket, I’ve included two crocheted hairbands- one white, one bright green- so that the mom can attach any of the flower clips to the hairband for her daughter. Then, when the little girl gets older, she can use the clips without the hairband. Years of use!!! Of course, I love pinwheels so I had to include a couple in the basket. These are mini-pinwheels on 6 inch lollipop sticks. And yes, they do in fact twirl!

 

If you don’t want a whole basket of bows or you already have a basket made up but want to add a little something special, what about this:

Hair bow wand

 

Hair bow

You can simply take Easter wands and attach the bows to the sticks. Wands are available at craft stores. The ones I used were purchased a couple weeks ago from Joann. I chose a butterfly one and also a flower one but they had ones with bunnies, chicks and Easter eggs.

 

Seal in the back yard and FREE seal notecards! April 6, 2011

High drama in our household over the last couple days! We’ve had an adult harp seal visit us and he spent a couple days enjoying our back yard! He was a very cute visitor and my daughter thought he was her new pet. I was sad to see him leave this morning but also very relieved because I was starting to worry. So, here’s the story.

 

At the crack of dawn yesterday when my husband woke up and went downstairs for his coffee, he spotted something white in the back yard. The sun came up a couple hours later to reveal a big fat seal. Crazy stuff, huh? Who expects to see a seal in their yard? If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you already know that we are lucky enough to rent a house on the water in scenic Jamestown, Rhode Island. So, I guess finding a seal in the backyard should not be all that surprising.

 

Adult Harp Seal

 

Checking us out

Seal in the yard

Of course, since he was up on the grass (as opposed to sunbathing on the rocks), my husband and I were concerned. We got in touch with the local NOAA division, which in turn led us to the fantastic people at the Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue program.

 

They immediately sent a local coordinator, the amazingly sweet and informative, Pam, to our house. She gave me some pamphlets, let me use her binoculars and took tons of photos. She determined that it was an adult harp seal and since he seemed healthy and very content, we should just observe him. Pam returned in the evening to make sure he was ok and I think we were all hoping that he’d go back to the water at some point in the evening.

Isn't he cute?

Chilling out

Well, he was still around this morning but at approximately 10:30 a.m. we were fortunate enough to see him swim away.

Leaving

 

Goodbye friend

Thank you for the visit!

The seals unexpected visit inspired me. Here are some cute note cards that you can download for FREE.  Print as many as you’d like and enjoy! They are 4 inches by 6 inches so there are two on a page.

 

Seal note cards

 

In case you wake up tomorrow and find a stranded mammal in your yard, here’s what to do (and not to do)! List courtesy of the Mystic Aquarium Animal Rescue Program.

• Do not touch the animal. All marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. This law makes it illegal to touch, disturb, feed or otherwise harass marine mammals without authorization.
• A beached whale, dolphin or porpoise should be reported immediately and left alone pending further instruction.
• Give the animal plenty of space. Crowding stresses the animal and may cause it to act aggressively.
• Keep pets away from the stranded animal. Not only can they bite and cause injury to the stranded animal, but they may be injured by it. Diseases can also be transmitted between stranded animals and pets.
• Do not pour water on a seal, feed it, cover it or attempt to move it into the water. It is normal for seals to come ashore to rest.
• Be observant. Take note of any obvious signs of injury, the overall body condition of the animal (is it robust or thin?), identification tags, the presence of other animals (especially important with dolphins), the sea state and recognizable landmarks that will make it possible to locate the animal.

 

Inspirations March 30, 2011

My son’s first birthday is coming up. His party will be at the end of April. Deciding on the theme for his party was harder than I’d expected. For my daughter’s first birthday party, I knew months in advance that I wanted a ladybug theme… but for my son, I’ve had a harder time deciding. And, he’s too young to tell me.

So, I found inspiration from our surrounding. Here are a couple photos of his bedroom and the amazing view he wakes up to every day. We are very fortunate to live right on the water in beautiful Jamestown, Rhode Island. The pretty colors outside have influenced his birthday party theme. We’ll be celebrating his birthday with a sailboat/nautical theme. Over the next couple weeks, I’ll give you sneak peeks of his party decorations and invites but for now… here’s the inspiration:

The colors I’ll be using are: light blue, navy blue, rustic orange, dark red, beige, and brown. Of course, there’ll be some plaid because that is sooooo cute.