Tag: party

Decorating for a Cute and Casual Backyard Party

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I was in charge of decorating for a party this past weekend. (Friends! Family! Put me in charge of these things — I love it.) It was a casual get together, but we still wanted to make the space cute.

I got everything we needed from Target, mixing it in with everyday white plates, silverware, and glass tumblers. Once the basics are covered, I think of decorating for a party (especially one without a strict theme) the same way I would for any room, in terms of pattern, color, and texture.

Pattern

The main pattern came in through the rope-print tablecloth and coordinating napkins. From there, I added a couple of substantial vases in stripes and zigzags, and even a patterned pillow that you’ll see a few pictures down.

Tablecloth • Napkins • Wooden Bowl

Color

The tablecloth had a white background with a pattern in navy that was so dark it almost looked black. It covered a table with a weathered gray fence behind it, and we used simple dishes on the table, so to bring in a little more color, I picked up a fun set of triangular serving dishes. A black and white vase with a green top matched one of the dishes, along with the green striped paper straws. A coral candle matched another, and then I hung two strands of colorful raffia tassels along the top of the fence.

Wooden Footed Bowl • Geometric Vase • Striped Vase • Serving Bowl • Candle • Wooden Candle Holder

Rattan Chair • Rattan Stool • Panama Hat • Shirt Dress • Cheese Board • Triangle Serving Dishes

Ignore the crazy hair under my hat. Right now it’s at the baby bangs and borderline mullet growing-it-out phase. (A haircut has been scheduled for next week. Grow it out? Keep it short? Ah, the perpetual struggle of the pixie cut. Hence, the hat!)

Texture

We needed extra seating, so I brought this rattan chair and matching stool outside. The shape and details are great, and they were nice and sturdy — heavier than I expected!

Rattan Chair • Rattan Stool • Black and White Pillow

The rattan was repeated in a tray that corralled drinks, and I also brought in some natural wood with turned candleholders and a footed decorative bowl. (Note that the bowl is not food safe. I placed a plate inside to use it for serving.) Wood and rattan are contrasted with smooth ceramic dishes, serving trays, and a white pitcher, and then the vases added even more depth with matte finishes and details. Plants and flowers are always a must, and of course the tassels in the background were a nice way to bring in even more texture.

The weather cooperated for us and it was so nice to be able to spend time with everyone outside. (Hopefully there’s no more snow to be seen until winter now!) I’d like to think that the decorations added to everyone’s enjoyment too. And I’ll leave you with this pro tip: make sure any adorable dogs present are suitably attired in a bandana to match your party decor.

(Such a party animal.)

April 19, 2016
My Sister’s Bridal Shower

My sister, Ashley, is getting married in September! Here she is with her fiancé, Matt, and a couple of very unevenly matched balloons.

Womp, womp, little blue balloon.

Their bridal shower was held at my house, and Ashley’s best friend, Sarah, co-hosted the party. We had about twenty five guests, but the photos in my post will focus on the decor and details.

I made a display out of paper fans (some that I already owned, and some that were new) to go above the fireplace, and spelled out “Ashley and Matt” with Rifle Paper garland.

I also wanted to do a honeycomb garland, and Jordan offered to send over supplies from the Oh Happy Day Shop (along with the giant Geronimo balloon and Ashley’s “Future Mrs.” headband). I used giant 19″ honeycombs and the tutorial used much smaller ones, so I bought chain instead of string for support. It was helpful for keeping everything in place while adding each piece too, since with string they would have wanted to slide down toward the center.

Brandon bought a couple of dry-erase comic book speech bubbles a few years ago. I’ve used them before at a baby shower photo shoot, but now we got to use them for real! We asked guests to write their best marriage advice for the couple, then snap a photo with it. Here’s Sarah, my co-host.

We had lunch, and then bam, four hundred and forty two desserts.

Queen and pincushion proteas with eucalyptus were a nod to the flowers for the upcoming wedding, along with green trick and little wildflowers.

I made the bridal shower bow bouquet, as one does at these things. I am sure my sister will forever cherish my creation.

Cheers to the happy couple! Everyone had a great time, and we’re all looking forward to the wedding!

August 10, 2015
A Fan of Fans

My sister is getting married in September, and I’ll be co-hosting a bridal shower for her this weekend with her best friend. We’re having it here at the house! I married Brandon in 2004 and my shower was held in his sister’s home (my baby shower too), and now I get to do the same thing all these years later for my little sister. I’m honored, and I’m looking forward to it!

My favorite go-to for parties is always clusters of paper fans. I’ve used them for the kids’ birthdays…

I’ve worked them into photo shoots…

And in one of my favorite styling gigs to date, a foxy baby shower theme…

I have a few other decorating tricks up my sleeve for the party this weekend, but the fans will be making an appearance too. All because I saw them on a blog six years ago. Funny how things get worked into your repertoire — I have a pretty good collection of them now!

I’m nervous (we’ve invited 40 people) and calm at the same time. I’ll know some of the guests that are coming, but there will be a lot of people I’ve never met before too, and I’m hoping everything will go smoothly. I want my sister to have an amazing time.

July 21, 2015
Cowabunga

This post is sponsored by Target. More Turtles, More Bold and Daring Fun: Blur the lines of fantasy and reality with your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles at Target.

My mom’s best friend had a son, Bobby, who was a year younger than me. We played together all the time, and my favorite of his toys was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles play set. It was sort of like a dollhouse, but instead of being pink and girly it was set in a sewer — and it was awesome. I loved the Turtles! I remember standing in a line that stretched a block away from the theater to see the movie when it came out, and I still know all the words to T.U.R.T.L.E. Power. I had the soundtrack. I had the video game. I even got my parents to take me to a live-action TMNT performance.

When August started expressing an interest in the heroes in a half-shell, I was maybe a wee bit into it.

Eleanor started kindergarten on Monday, and August doesn’t start nursery school for another week. E absolutely loves school, but the transition for August has been rough so far with him missing his sister. To give them both something fun to look forward to this weekend, Brandon and I decided to throw a little back-to-school party. It will be low-key with just a few kids, but we still want to make it special for them and we’re going to decorate with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme. Eleanor likes that they’re ninjas, like she is, and August just thinks they’re awesome. Plus we get to order pizza! After all, “these ninjas are into pepperoni and cheese.”

The kids have been having fun with their Ninja Turtles toys and those will make an appearance at the party this weekend, but I also have some decorations and activities in the works. I’ll share the details next week!

p.s. Have you seen this DIY TMNT Assault Van video? That thing is amazing!

August 28, 2014
Here’s to Summer Soirées
This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints,
where every choice is a stylish choice.

Summer parties call for festive color, don’t you think? I love keeping a few fun supplies on hand, like party hats and glasses, so we’re always ready to set the scene. And I think I’ll always be a paper invitations kind of person — it’s the former stationery designer in me! Below are a few of my favorite invitations from Tiny Prints, along with the thank you cards and address labels we’ve been using lately.
1. Plenty of Confetti: Begonia Return Address Labels
  The wraparound style of these is cute, and the confetti print makes me smile.
2. Sunray Celebration: Blaze Party Invitations
  So bright and summery!
3. Acapulco Lounge Chair
  I assure you that if this chair were on hand, it would be every guest’s favorite spot.
4. Cube Lanterns
  Light the way with colorful lanterns.
5. Toot Sweet Party Hats
  Kids love these. (Adults, too!)
6. Heartfelt Thanks Bright Red Thank You Cards
  I love the little surprise when you turn it over.
7. Joyful Herringbone Party Invitations
  The sleek black circle against a playful backdrop is perfect.
8. Colorful Plastic Goblets
  Unbreakable cups are great for outdoors, and they don’t get much cuter than these.
9. Pineapple Party Invitations
  What’s more summery than luscious, ripe pineapples?
This post is sponsored by Tiny Prints, where every choice is a stylish choice.
July 14, 2014
Crafty Like a Fox Party Theme

This is the third and final baby shower theme I created for a Huggies Pinterest campaign. It’s also my favorite and the most ‘me’ of the bunch. Because I’m so foxy.

Kidding! I do love the color scheme though, all based around a floral tablecloth by Rifle Paper Co. for BHLDN. This is the tablecloth I’d considered chopping up for kitchen curtains. I’m so glad I didn’t, because now I’ll be able to take it with us and use it in our next house. (As a tablecloth, not curtains! Imagine that.)

Again, these were shot in Tyllie Barbosa’s Chicago studio. And again, my sister-in-law, Portia, assisted me on set. We had the food styling down by this point.

There was a dessert table, too. I made the little bunting flags over the cake, but the cake itself was an off-the-shelf coconut cake from the grocery store.

This is a baby shower theme, so I originally pitched this as “Foxy Mama.” That is apparently too racy? Thus the theme became “Crafty Like a Fox” instead. Naturally, I had to setup a craft station.

And speaking of crafty, another diaper cake. Never did I suspect I’d make a diaper cake in my life, but here’s my third one. I daresay this is something I’m actually good at! Adding it to the resumé.

My creation graced the gift table. The framed tree print you see here was borrowed from Binth for the shoot. They had a beautiful family tree version in their store with calligraphy, but I wasn’t sure how that would fly for photo shoot releases so I used the plain version. The cards on the table are by Binth as well.

There are more photos of the Crafty Like a Fox baby shower theme on Pinterest, and you can see the other two shower themes I designed and styled for this campaign here and here. This was my favorite, but which was yours?

July 8, 2013