Down On The Farm - 3rd Birthday Party

This party was a true labor of LOVE. I worked on this party for months and months. It was all I could think (and dream) about for a long time.

My girlfriend Sarah and I have girls that were born on the same day. Our girls see each other as often as we can get together and one of their favorite things to do is go to Underwood Family Farms.

She looked into having a party at Underwood Farms in Moorpark and we decided to have a joint party to celebrate the girls' third birthday. Each of us have gone a little crazy for our kid's parties for the past two years and at least this year we decided to pool our resources and time. It's hard to throw a party and make it to your best friend's on the same day!

The girls were born on Halloween and the farm is very busy with their fall activities each weekend so we booked the party for the weekend after their birthdays. If you're a local and you've never been to the farm, you have to go! Weekdays the farms are filled with mommies and their little ones. They love to run around and we love how tired our kids are on the way home! They have strawberry picking in the summer and pumpkins in the fall and everything else imaginable in between.

This is going to be a super long post so you might want to bookmark it and come back to finish.

I guess I'll start with the part that everyone sees before the party...

THE INVITATIONS

I'm the type to research and save photos of all my favorites (funny I'm not on Pinterest yet because I already have my own type of Pinterest on the computer). I spend too much time online the way it is (go nap time!)

Anyhow after researching tons of farm images, I came across a kit from Amanda at A-Manda Creation called Funky Farm. From there, the invites were born!

For me, the excitement of any party starts with the invites. We both really wanted our guests to say "Wow, I can't wait to go to this party, how fun!". An invitation card is great but we wanted something really memorable... Even if it took me hours to put them together! Not everyone has time to do all that but I'll show you some other projects that take no time at all!

I started by printing the back layer in a red/white gingham. Then flipped the paper and printed the inside of the invite. I then printed the front of the invite and that's where the fun began! With an Exact-o knife. I carefully cut open the barn door and window. I then got to use a new tool, my Making Memories Instant Eyelet Setter, to create a space on the barn door to tie them shut with twine. The tool is fun as it punches holes in the paper, then you add the eyelet and punch it closed but it's SUPER loud! Definitely had to do that part while the family was awake.

I glued the top and bottom pieces together with my all time favorite glue stick (Scotch Wrinkle Free). I trimmed them, added a little gold glitter (for the girly chicken feed). Glued a glittery silo top and then added a 3-D sunflower made with yellow glitter card stock. All those steps seem to take forever but finally they were all done! Guests called to say how much they loved the invite and that made all the effort pay off.

We didn't want our guests to feel as though they needed to bring a gift for the other little girl, so each of our girls had their own invites that didn't mention it was a joint party. BUT as we hand delivered each invite, each guest to be also got a t-shirt. (that did have both girls' names on it)

T-SHIRTS

This was fun for the kids but also practical for us. We were having professional photographers at the party to capture all the fun and wanted to make sure that all our guests were noticed as they ran around the farm riding the ponies, trains, and feeding the animals.

With the same barn design from Amanda's Funky Farm kit, the "FARMER [Name Here]" shirts were created. We also used the tagline "Love, Maddie and Bella" or "Love, Bella and Maddie" (to keep it fair) on many of our projects.

We had guests from 9 months old to size 5T so we needed to size accordingly for each shirt but the kids all looked great. They were easy to create. We ordered blank Rabbit Skins t-shirts from Shirtsinbulk.com. Be sure to order a size larger and wash before using any iron ons. They will shrink and I'm glad I saw that part of the reviews for that brand. I researched every aspect of the party details and this site had the best prices and I think I found a coupon code online to make it even better.

The tags asked our guests to be sure to wear their shirts to the party. We went with short sleeve and figured parents could layer with a longer shirt under if it was chilly given our party was at the beginning of November in the early morning.

THE GIRLS' OUTFITS
I found this wonderful seamstress on Etsy, Rachel Moroz that was so kind to make the girls skirts. She doesn't have an Etsy store currently but was working on a website to feature her work. I'll be sure to update with a link when I get her new info. The skirts were so darling!

Here's our inspiration photo (it's a bloomer/diaper cover):

And here's a photo of the girls in their skirts & shirts:

Maddie called it her "Jessie" skirt. They both really liked their cowboy boots but you know how three year olds can be and we were just crossing our fingers they would want to actually wear their party outfits on the big day. Their shirts were purchased at Walmart (good place to find plain shirts) and ironed on.

LUNCH BOXES

I found these barn boxes on Etsy at one of my favorite sellers The Homespun Hostess

There was a mixup with her manufacturer. The boxes shown in her store are more "barn" looking and perfect for our kids' lunch boxes but I received gable boxes. She was really sweet when the mistake was discovered and she sent me some awesome colored twine as an "I'm sorry".  Apparently the manuf. no longer makes the adorable barn boxes and didn't tell her before substituting. She was great to work with!
I can't wait to shop in her store for paper straws, my newest party LOVE.

The boxes contained stuff that kids love, crackers, a juice, grapes and a cheese stick. We also made "chicken feed" bags, aka chex mix.  The boxes were perfect to take with them on the farm for a snack. Every kid ended up devouring their goodies before cake and then used their boxes to house their beanie baby farm animal during the animal search.

Sarah displayed the boxes at the party using the ginormous cupcake holder her hubby made for her Bella's first birthday. (Told you we go all out for birthday parties!) The boxes looked great on the table. I printed the label using full sheet sticker paper and just cut around the design. Easy, easy!

These water bottles turned out so cute.. I couldn't get enough of the cow print with the gingham, can you tell?!

Napkin wraps are easy and really helpful to guests so they grab everything they need at one time. Especially for a kids party where they often have one kid walking and another in their arms.

All the adults enjoyed bagels with all the fixings and muffins. Sarah also made this adorable fruit salad bowl out of a watermelon in the shape of a pig! 

It's too bad the "details" photographer didn't remove the foil! BUT, it is a cute shot of my food tag. Found these cute frames at Michael's for $1. You can bet I'll be using them for future parties.

ANIMALS GOTTA EAT TOO

These were feed bags we made for the kids to take out on the farm. We bought full carrots in bulk and chicken feed from a local store. We repackaged the feed into snack size baggies and made a "chicken feed" sticker. Printed on full sheet sticker page and used a circle punch. (Turns out the farm does give each kid an ice cream cone filled with feed so the animals were well fed that day!)

THE CAKE

The cake was absolutely amazing. My co-hostess works with a wonderfully talented woman that loves to make cakes and it shows! Because we had such a large group we decided cupcakes were the way to go and we found some cute examples online. We wanted the girls to have their own cakes to blow out their candles and that's exactly what we got! Everyone was blown away by the work and detail that went into this cake design.. and it tasted delicious! I can't wait for my next party just so I can order another cake!
(I don't want to post her info with permission but if you're local to Ventura County, shoot me an email and I'll get you in touch with her.) Prices were super reasonable, I'm a cheapskate so if I say that, you know they're good.

SWEET TREATS/PARTY FAVORS

M&M sleeves were new for me and now I'm hooked. I usually find M&Ms on clearance after the holidays and use say red from Christmas for Valentines day. Maddie is a great M&M color separator and will work for chipped M&Ms.

For this project, I created a barn box from a tissue box and then a variety of farm animals. We handed them out to all the kids while they visited the farm after the party.

The cheapest place I found bags was at GTBAGS.com. They're called 1 x 8 PolyPro Lip and Tape Bags and come in a pack of 100 for about $9.00. They sent a bunch of sample bags for their other products with my order which I thought was pretty cool. It says their minimum order is $35 but I didn't have any problems submitting mine.

Here's the barn box:

And here are a few of the animals with "Thank Moo" tags. I made about 30 of these!

For a fun game we hid (farm related) beanie babies on a large hay stack and had the kids each find one to take home.

GUEST BOOK ( & table decor)

Using an online photo site we created matching photo books of the girls life together that tells the story of how Sarah and I met and has photos of the girls through the years together. Using a photo book as a guest book is a great way for guests to see your little one and how much they've changed. It would also be great for an Anniversary party or any birthday for that matter!

Something sweet to greet you at the door... a sign, and candy.

You can't tell from this photo but each flower was made from about 6 or 7 layers of cut paper all glued together. I also used a brown ink and distressed the petals to give them a more dimensional look. Same idea as the invite flowers (seen below) but a little more detailed. Why, oh why did I do that? lol Next time, less detail on the small stuff like favors. Once the M&Ms were gone, so were the flowers. :)

This birthday banner could be used for a farm/western theme for a boy or girl. I made it girly by using a red sequined string instead of ribbon and embossed and distressed each letter to add some texture.

Here's the only picture we have of it from the party. We had photos of the girls from their photo shoot (JUST SHOOT ME) blown up (Costco has super cheap prices) and hung on the wall to decorate the outside of the party area. 

I made this awesome banner using bandanas found at Michaels and cow material. I turned out sooo awesome. Unfortunately our photographers didn't capture them or the animals hanging from the ceiling. I think this is also the only photo of our table runners I also created by sewing bandanas together. Not all bandanas are sized equally but it was a fun project.

Here are some photos I took at home. I always try to take detail photos of my projects before the party just in case I don't get a good shot (or our paid photographers!) during the fun.

These guys are about 9" tall and were made from the Create a Critter Cartridge on my Cricut.
I put an eyelet on each one so we could hang with fishing line and they didn't rip. It also gave me an excuse to use my new eyelet tool again!

Stopped for a family photo

Maddie and her daddy on the wagon ride that started the party.

Bella and her parents, Scott and Sarah.

The two birthday families together.

At one point about half way through the party, Sarah and I just hugged each other. We couldn't believe that the big day had finally come and it was so much better than we ever imagined. Everything was PERFECT! It certainly was a birthday to remember! Now, to start planning for the big 0-4! 

(That's a milestone birthday, right? wink wink)

All photos from this post (with the exception of indoor project details) were taken by JUST SHOOT ME photography in Moorpark, CA. 

While I would not recommend this particular vendor, I think it's important to hand your camera to a friend or family member and have them be in charge of taking photos. Make sure they aren't a 10 year old who likes close ups of bugs or that's what you'll get.

Just like your wedding, your two-three hour party goes by in a FLASH and all you'll have are memories and photos to look back on. If your memory is anything like mine, you'll be glad to have the photos!

THANK YOU CARDS

Don't forget thank you cards for all your guests that came out to celebrate with you. With the day over, it's a fun way to share highlights from the party through photos. We printed ours on photo paper and backed with printed piece of card stock.  Sarah printed a photo and sent in a black card. She then wrote her thank you with a metallic pen, very cool!

p.s. Yes, I realize it's February and I'm finally blogging about a party that took place in November. First of all, you just read the entire post. It's taking me all day to write it so imagine trying to gather your thought and photos. :) I hope I remembered it all!

She's About to POP- Baby Shower

In the beginning of January one of my fellow MOMS Club of Camarillo East mommies was about to give birth to her third little guy. Another mom was sweet to throw her a shower and asked for my help with the decor.

I fell in love with the "She's About to POP" theme and went with it! Because she was having a boy we went with blue and green colors.

I started out by creating a circle pattern inspired by this photo and another She's About to POP shower found at Pen n' Paperflowers.

Well, truth be told, the first thing I did was locate plates, cups, and partyware so I knew what my colors were going to be. I didn't want to design everything in one blue, and then not be able to find matching eatery. It's a good way to start your party planning. Same idea if you're going to design your own invites.. start with the envelope sizes and color choices first! Nothing worse than spending a lot of time and energy on designing something you can't mail!

One of the coolest craft projects for this party with the balloon wreath. Guests were so excited to find this on the front door. I used a foam wreath from the craft store and a LOT of balloons. Two large packages and probably two or three smaller ones. I added a sign to the inside to show what the theme was but I could have left it blank.

The best part is I can reuse the balloons because they were just attached with floral wire that I curved into a "U". This would be adorable as a Valentine's theme... ah, off to find cheap balloons!

I probably could have done more with the "POP" theme but it was just after the holidays and I honestly didn't have the energy. I did get a chance to use my new Baby Cakes cake pop maker that I got for Christmas.

And I found some caramel popcorn (Poppycock) on clearance at Target. Perfect for the girls to munch on while the guest of honor opened presents. These cute popcorn boxes were pretty easy to create on my Cricut.

The hostess was going to order a plain cake and so I created my very first cake bunting. It turned out adorable but would have looked equally as great (if not better) an undecorated cake.

Water bottles of course! I can't seem to have a party without water bottles and custom labels.

Napkin wraps are so easy to create (just print on regular copy paper or use left over cardstock) and they make it really easy for your guests to grab a plate of food and head back to their seat without dropping a fork or forgetting their napkin. Plus, again, it's something so easy to tie your theme in with plain plates, cups, and napkins.

I made two banners just using my computer, cardstock, and some matching ribbon. The one on the window said "She's About to POP".

Ok, look away if you're easily grossed out. I'm not a huge fan of baby shower games but we did play two fun ones.. Name that Poop (at least that's what I called it). I melted popular candy bars into diapers and the guests guessed the names. That's a pretty common one, right?

Everyone really had fun with this one! It's amazing how some actually look like diapers I've seen!

We also played a blindfold game that was timed. This one might work well for more intimate parties. I filled a bowl with rice and (closed) medium sized safety pins. Each player had to pull out as many pins as possible in one minute. It's much harder than you think.. try it some time just for fun!

I'm lucky to be part of such a great group of girls. They keep me up to date on all the local happenings and I've make some lifelong friendships for myself and my little one.

Now we're just waiting for our friend to POP!

If you have any questions about the products I create or would like more info on how I can help you with a party of your own, just send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!

Angela
Park Talk Printables
angela.parktalk@yahoo.com

Minnie Mouse Party

I just love Mickey and Minnie themed birthday parties. My daughter's friend was having her third birthday at a local indoor play place back in December.  I helped out by making water bottle labels and a sign but as you can see, the mommy did a great job with decor without my help.

 She used the same cake lady we used for the girls' farm party and it turned out great! It looked exactly like the Mickey Mouse Playhouse and tasted great!

I love Rice Krispie treats... you can shape them like anything and add so much to your decor! Not to mention, they're delicious!!

By adding just a few personal items to your store stuff, you can really make your party special.

Tiny Prints Photo Contest

I know... two posts in a row about Tiny Prints but I really can't help myself. I remember when Maddie was born and we thought she was the cutest baby around.. then she got older and we thought she was the cutest toddler.. well, you get my point. We all think we have the cutest photos and here's a great opportunity to show off your little cutie!

Tiny Prints is holding a Talent Search Contest.

Prizes awarded for:

Cutest Baby (0-2 years old)
Cutest Kid (3-10 years old)
Cutest Family
Cutest Couple
Cutest Pet

As a reader of Park Talk, you have November 21st to enter your photos before the general public votes. You can enter via Facebook or their website.

Enter now for a chance to win the grand prize of $1,000 cash and a $500 Tiny Prints Gift Certificate. I think the best prize (besides the cash!) is the chance to be in their 2012 marketing campaign. Can you imagine?!

Good luck to you and all your sweet ones!

Holiday Cards- Tiny Prints

So hard to believe it's that time again, but just take a walk into any store and it's for sure, Christmas is coming! That means it's time to get working on my holiday cards.

Throughout the year I took advantage of several offers for free personalized cards from Tiny Prints. All the recipients were really impressed with the quality, plus I love receiving cards that are personalized and/or have pictures of people I love. Those cards are guaranteed to NEVER be thrown in the trash!

Because Tiny Prints has been so generous with their offers, I decided to check out their website to see what they were offering for holiday cards.

Wow! Now I'm confused because there are really just too many choices!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Retro Wishes: Wave
I really love the fact that the back of their flat cards have decorative backgrounds instead of just white. You can always print your family's yearly review on a sticker and center on the back. Another detail that I really LOVE is rounded corners! I think they make everything look more special.

Lasting Links
This card is just adorable in either the green or blue. That's so cool that you can change the coloring on some of their cards. So many times I've fallen in love with a design but it doesn't work with my photo.

Shared Joy
I thought this card is great for someone that may not have a traditional "holiday" photo. Not sure what I was thinking but we're wearing black and pink in our latest family photo.. not exactly great on a "Jolly Old St Nicolas" Red background.

Traditional Tidings
I thought sending out ornament cards is genius! Wouldn't it be great if everyone did and your tree could be filled with family and friends?! If I received one, I know it would get saved and used from year to year.

What about you, have you thought about your holiday cards yet? Know which photos you're going to use? Time to get going because before you know it, it'll be Thanksgiving and your mailbox is going to start filling up with cards!

Any cute ideas for displaying your cards?
Because we don't have a mantel, I usually do what my mom did when we were growing up.. hang a thick holiday ribbon on a wall and pin the cards to it as they arrive. Sometimes the ribbon ends up going up and around doorways or from the ceiling to the floor. I'd love to hear what you do in your house.

Card Photos
This year we had family portraits done at a studio. Last year I just took Maddie in the background and got some super cute shots of her. Guess that means you don't have to spend a lot of money on your photos. Some of my favorites are candid shots of families or couples at a party or sharing something they all love to do. I guess that's when the smiles are most genuine. That and I'm a sucker for close ups of the kids. They're the ones who change from year to year and that people really want to see, right?!

Whatever you decide to do, I would highly recommend checking out Tiny Prints. With so many choices, there's no way you won't find something you love!

Halloween Party

On October 21st we attend our annual MOMS Club Halloween party. It was so much fun seeing all of our little cheeky monkey's friend's wearing their costumes. A few weeks prior, the hostess contacted me to work on decor. She didn't have any guidelines, just said "go for it".... here's what I came up with.

(You may click on any images to enlarge to see details)

One of my favorites is water bottle labels. I overheard one mom say she was sad she didn't get one... aw! A few on the table really make an impact and although they are covered by packing tape (little secret) they aren't officially waterproof so don't submerge. Instead keep cool and place out just before the party What I've found is most people don't mind (and some prefer) room temperature water.

Fry Boxes... kids and adults love them. They're easy to hold and you can use them for almost anything... little sandwiches with the crusts cut off, popcorn, or in this case, every two year old's favorite, GOLDFISH!

This Trick or Treat banner was really fun and could easily be cut out and pasted. I purchased sparkly card stock to give it a little pizzaz! This could easily be folded up and tucked away for next year. I love the look a food table with banner behind it. Everyone always hangs out there so why not decorate the walls too?! Random Bats and witches were also taped around the room.

My snack contribution was cupcakes. Normally I would leave that to the baking moms (and I did leave it to the grocery store) but I really wanted to use the cupcake toppers that I created. What a great way to again, a personal touch whether it's for a birthday or a MOMS Club Halloween party. Starbucks stir sticks cut on half are the perfect size for a cupcake topper!

When I saw this "Boo" "Spooky" banner online I couldn't way to try it out. I still can't figure out how it only cost her $2 but I did have fun with my first paper/felt project. First I cut out all the letters and ghosts bats and corn on card stock. Then I hot glued them to felt on the wrong side and cut around. My glue gun broke (boo) but I managed to get the project finished and sewn together with a bright yellow floss. I almost wanted to keep this one for myself! It was a lot of work to work with the felt and all the sewing and probably could have just as easily been done in all paper and tied together with colorful ribbon but I'm glad I tried it because the results were very cute!

I've been searching high and low for the creator of this SVG (if it's yours please contact me so I can add credits). I'm a HUGE fan of word art, sometimes called Subway art. Usually I just print them out and frame but I found a cut file that I could use with the Cricut that cut just beautifully. I added a little MOMS Club in a slime font to fill up my frame. oooohhhhh!!!

I did create a fun Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin game but with all the candy and action, we never got around to playing it. I did see a version of this at Target for $5 or so that would be just as fun as a homemade one. But this was a pretty easy project and could be done last minute. Just cut out yellow triangles and write name before they play. Glue dots would make easy work for pinning too.

This Front Door Welcome Sign was a combination of two free SVG files found online. I used sparkle and matte card stock that had a fantastic result. Witch Legs and Witch Silhouette The text was created in SCAL and cut out on black card stock.

As you see, working in personalized items with store bought things can really give you a big wow factor and impress your friends. Although these days most things are made using my Cricut but every now again, I cut by hand. Small scissors are the key to accurate cuts. Printing things out using your word processing program (flip text before printing) and then cutting out doesn't always take that much more time.

If you're looking for decor for your next party, start by searching online for ideas or just contact me, I have TONS! :)

More Closet Dividers

After giving the jungle closet dividers to my girlfriend's daughter for her shower, she contacted me to make two sets for her to give to friends that were expecting.

One set was to match the NoJo bedding Zoom Cars link and the other was turtles (no bedding specified). While I don't own the rights to the NoJo Cars and patterns used for the bedroom sets, I did my best to match and create. It's a bit of mix matched patterns but I think they turned out cute.

The turtles set was a little easier because I just created two paper patterns and used on the turtle and the backs. At first I had smaller eyes on the turtles but something didn't look quite right. After changing them, I realized they were much cuter!

It may seem with so few posts I haven't been active but I've been EXTREMELY busy working on projects for my soon to be 3 year old's birthday party... It going to be amazing (if I do say so myself). Lots and lots of projects that I hope will impress the party-goers.

I also worked on party decor for a MOMS Club party that I'll post about next.

Angela