Night Owl Slumber Party

I can't believe it's been 5 months since I posted anything. I'm SO sorry! My mom had open heart surgery in June, she started chemo in August as well as the kids starting school and the Fall got away from me. I have also been working on my daughter's 12th birthday party. She loves the movie "Legends of the Guardians" so it was only natural that we have an owl party. I made owl necklaces for all of the guests as well as custom owl pillows out of  some great designer fabrics such as Heather Bailey. The printables for the party are from Frosting & Ink and were the inspiration for all of the decor.

 Ready to watch the movie "Legend of the Guardians".

 Fabric for the food table curtains is from IKEA as well as the owl picture. I added wooden crates and wood rounds for a natural element.

 Owl cookies for the Midnight Snack are from TS Cookies and they were amazing!

  The centerpieces for the activity table had fresh flowers in mason jars with fabric wraps. I also incorporated homemade yarn pom poms and crocheted flowers for an Anthropologie feel. The lace candle holder is from IKEA and I also used the matching tray for the cake.

 I also swagged doilies and pom poms on burlap poles around the table.

 Even the front door had an owl welcome!

 I made the Devil's Food cake and homemade frosting (recipe from Dear Lillie blog) and used a feather technique with the frosting. I also made the pom pom banner.

 One of the activities was to paint owls on canvas. The girls really loved this and it was fun to watch their creativity.

 Owl backpacks had toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissues, lip balm and sleeping eye masks.

 I got the owl aprons from Oriental Trading Co.

 Transferring M&Ms from one plate to another using straws.

 Swinging a tennis ball in pantyhose 

worn on the head at plastic bottles.

 Moving an Oreo from your forehead to 

your mouth by wiggling your face.

 Even the bathroom had a touch of owl decor!

Since the girls went to sleep at 4:30 am, it was tough to wake them up for breakfast even with the smell of bacon cooking!

 Owl mugs for hot cocoa

 Owl Gallery

 Thank you gifts were Dollar Tree frames wrapped in fabric with a party picture and a hand written thank you 

note from my daughter. Everyone had a wonderful time!

 The party scheduled was chalked by my talented friend, Anna Fry. The girls followed it very closely including waiting until exactly 12:00 to eat the Midnight snack of milk and cookies. They did turn the lights out at 1:00 but watched episodes of Glee and Victorious until 4:30 am :)

Fabulous Fashionista

 Table for 8 celebrated another members milestone birthday! Sandy's theme was "Fashionista" with hot pink and zebra prints. It was hosted at Suzie's beautiful home and as guests arrived they were greeted with Cosmos cocktails and a trip to the photo booth to have a picture with the birthday girl.

 Each hostess brought an appetizer for guests to enjoy and I made the birthday cake and cupcakes.

 I put together all of the flower arrangements.

 It was the first time I ever made or worked with gum paste and I made these flowers just a few hours before the party. Not the best time to try a new technique!

 Since it was a fashionista party, we broke the guests up into groups and had them design toilet paper fashions. One late entry was a friend of Suzies son who had crashed the party. The winning team won a pair of hot pink opera gloves.

 Belinda did a reading from a friendship tea book and others shared their love for Sandy.  We had a champagne toast and enjoyed some French vanilla cake with chocolate fill. Guests went home with the photo of themselves and Sandy in a zebra printed frame and a special thank you gift from Sandy.

Cottage Celebration

Today is my mom's 70th birthday. On June 5, she had open heart surgery to remove a benign tumor that caused her to have a stroke last February. She is still in the hospital but improving.

 In May, the doctors moved up her surgery from July for fear that her ovarian cancer could come back, so my sister and I had only 10 days to pull off a surprise birthday party for her. We held the party in my backyard and the theme was red, white and blue cottage. My mom's favorite holiday is Independence Day thus her favorite colors! I bought 6 vintage tablecloths on ebay and rented red checked tablecloths for the tables. Some of you might recognize this chandelier from the Father/Daughter Masquerade Ball I hosted for my daughter's elementary school back in April. I gave it a fresh coat of white spray paint and added some fabric rosettes and lace.

 I bought frames from the Dollar Tree and wrapped them in ripped fabric and then hot glued chicken wire to the backs. My mom LOVES chickens because it reminds her of summers spent on her grandparents farm in Kansas. I filled the frames with some old pictures of my sister and I and Mom and Dad at my Dad's high school prom.

 I put tacks on the backs of the frames and they hung easily on the shutters.

 This is where we seved tri tip, garlic mashed potatoes, garden salad, quinoa and breadsticks for the guests.

 For the dessert table, I incorporated Mom's favorite flowers-Sweet Peas. I created unique candle holders by gluing Dollar Tree candlesticks or milkglass bud vases to the bottom of Mason jars and adding some ribbon and lace.

 I LOVE this Nantucket giant mason jar drink server from Sur la Table.

 Mom loves pies, so I made mini cherry and apple pies as well as homemade vanilla ice cream and chocolate cake and cupcakes.

 The mini corrugated cups, wooden forks and demitasse spoons are from Garnish.

 Mom loved her celebration and she was completely surprised. My daughter and I went to vist her in the hospital and brought her some lovely pink peonies and my sister made lemon cupcakes to share with the hospital staff.