MOMS Club Mother's Tea and Fundraiser 2013

I was so sad when I realized I couldn't attend our local MOMS Club Annual Mother's Day Tea and Fundraiser this year. There isn't much tea drinking these days.. just great food and drinks with my mommy friends that I don't see on a regular basis but still really value our friendships... Alas, I had family plans that day but Park Talk Printables donated the decor. (As long as I'm a member, I wouldn't let my girls down!)

All any great party needs is a splash of color here and there and a basic "theme" to tie it all together. You may remember last year's Tea link (because I JUST posted it a few weeks ago) and 2011 link.

When I think of Mother's Day, flowers come to mind (hint, hint, wink wink hubby).
Pink and Orange is such a vibrant combination, I knew it would help lighten up the dark wood decor at the local Italian restaurant that it was being held at.

My other personal theme "was keep it simple".. that's a tough one for me but I had another big party the same week and didn't want to take away from those projects.. hey a paying gig has priority. :)

Focusing on a few key items, here's what I came up with.. BTW sometimes the best kind of jobs are unstructured..Nobody requested multiple proofs/changes and I got to do WHATEVER I wanted. :)

Centerpieces: A simple mason jar. I try to keep these on hand for either canning food (imagine that) or for a quick vase. I heart mason jars of all sizes... I wrapped a printed band around the jar and added paper flowers (left overs from a fiesta party earlier in the week). The band could have been larger so you you couldn't see inside the jar but that was one of my last things printed and I just went with it.

Name Tags/Corsages: Being our Mother's DayTea we often have new/newer members attend this popular event so we usually wear name tags. Last year you may remember I created paper flowers.. this year I was all about fabric and hair clippies. Combining the two, I created a hair clippie that the ladies could attach to their lapel with a hanging name tag that could be removed. After the party, pop it onto a beach bag, summer purse, or even your child's hair.. if you're feeling saucy, put it in your own hair! O'le!

For display I clipped them to my daughter's framed clippie holder that I made for her room.. come to think of it, I have another one hanging in my office for the clippies that I sell.

Close up of fabric flower clippie.. used a knit fabric to give it some texture.

231 circles later.. me and my trusty hot glue gun got to work!

Look around your house.. lots of items you use every day can be used for party decor.. I love using vintage bowls and things I've made for other projects.

Welcome Sign:  Because raffle tickets were involved, I created a sign reminding moms of the prices and welcomed them to the party. It's hard to get away sometimes and leave the kids at home with dad and we appreciated everyone that was able to make it. Except me of course!!

Raffle Boxes and Silent Auction Sheets: Being a fundraiser, raffle boxes and Bid sheets are pretty important.. nothing says they can't be pretty looking too. :)

Recognized the butterfly boxes from last year?.. this year I created in Pink and Orange to match. I created a circle tag for one of the board members to hand write the donations and values. Ladies put the raffle tickets inside.

Silent Auction sheets were "fill in the blank" for the board members. Of course they had to match too!

Banner: I created a coordinating design and print banner. Anyone could print and cut, then tape to a matching ribbon.

Here's the banner hanging on my living room curtains.

close up of banner

If you're a new mom, the MOMS Club is a wonderful organization comprised of mostly stay at home moms. I've created so many lasting friendships through this group of ladies and consider myself lucky to have found them. If you contact your local MOMS Club organization and you don't hear back.. try again. They are made up of volunteer mommies that sometimes are overwhelmed with LIFE... you'll be glad you joined.

Just wait for the Fiesta Party who's flowers inspired the ones used here... coming soon!

Invitations: Curious George

I love kids birthday party invitations. There are so many options. Some parents like licensed characters, others none, and some choose to mix. Either way you go adding a few personalized elements to your character or color themed parties is the way to go.. Cupcake Toppers, Water Bottle Labels, and Banners create a big bang for not a lot of buck.

I've said it before and I'll keep saying it... I think invites are important! (not everyone agrees and that's ok) BUT they really set the tone for your party. I'm not saying you need personalized invites but getting this invite in the mail really got their guests excited about the Curious George Party. Heck, maybe your next invite will even get guests to RSVP... now that's just crazy talk!

Curious "Anderson" George 1st Birthday.. you never forget your first birthday right?.. Oh yeah.. well your mom won't forget! :)

Curious Anderson was the star of his First Birthday Party!

Back of the invite was printed on card stock and gave all the details. These were mailed in a really fun bright yellow envelope.

Cupcakes at the park make life a little easier for mom.. these matched perfectly. Don't forget double sided because there's no wall to back the stand against.

For first birthdays, high chair banners are super cute for photo ops..  Smash Cake Anyone?

They're smaller than our traditional banners and are also great for locations where you can't hang decor on the walls.

Happy 1st Birthday Curious Anderson!!

Poker Anyone? I'm All In!

 When I first met my husband I swear we were always playing some form of Poker... I have such great memories of those nights. Then we started a family and late nights were no longer filled with cards and friends, but family movie nights, and an early kiddo bedtime. Our house is too small too host so a few months ago I convinced a friend to invite us over.

As a surprise, I brought along a little "Abrams' Poker Night" decor. Ok, most poker nights there is no she-she foo-foo involved... just cocktails, paper plates, pizza, and chips (poker and potato).

This was a poker party a girl would throw or in my case, just a good excuse to get us together to play some cards and show off my party skills!

Ok, not every poker night deserves tulle but Red and Black can be Oh So Fabulous. Notice the trim is a black feather boa?, perfect for Bunko Night or Couples Poker. The tulle is just pinned to a black tablecloth from the underside. Easily removed and now a future TuTu. :)

A close up of the banner.. just used Foam Core Board covered in wrapping paper. An old deck of cards was hot glued to red ribbon and I printed out a fan of cards with the "Abrams' Poker Night" logo 

Had to used my favorite Cake Pop/Cupcake Stand. I used a beaded sash instead of ribbon for an accent. The little frame is one of my favorite dollar finds from Michael's. I've used them tons of times!

Strawberries.. trying to be healthy AND it matched my color theme.. added just a strip of paper underneath so as the berries disappeared, the serving plate was still cute.

Close up of the cupcakes.. "I'm All In" was the theme of the night I tried to attend Fondant Cards..the food markers I had didn't work so great so glad I only tried a few.

When partaking in cocktails, it's a MUST to also offer water (and some mini cupcakes for in between hands)

Poker Queen (it was around my birthday and I wanted a little extra pizzaz at the table.. Wine glass from the 99 cent store, a little Modge Podge, glitter, and glass etching cream.. Voila!

All other guests got "Abrams' Poker" glasses. Some weren't drinking so we served water or juice in these. Those that were enjoyed a cold beer and cocktail in style

"I'm All In" for poker again!!

Train Party

Last summer I was asked to help a friend with her little guy's 4th birthday. Like LOTS of little boys I know, he was infatuated with trains. I have to admit, after attending his party at Travel Town in Los Angeles... so was I! 

What a great place to take the kids. The party was held on a private train car. All guests got to go on a train ride around the property and of course the decor was super cute, cuz that's just what happens when Park Talk Printables gets involved. (hee hee) By coincidence, the car she was assigned to was red and blue inside, how did they know??

Kids and parents had a great time watching the model trains and climbing aboard a few non-working old trains. If you have a little (or old) one who loves trains, this is a great location for a party.

If you need help with your train party.. let me know!