Portfolio plumping time. Baby announcement ideas needed. And a fav photographer of mine Sissel Byington was sweet enough to share a precious photo from a recent shoot of hers. Taking the background of a baby shower invitation I did a while back, I created this. Of course I've got one for baby boys too. Snips and snails and puppy dog tails, of course! (the names have been changed to protect the innocent... baby from all those cooing fans!)
I've blogged before about the twists and turns my mind takes when I'm in party planning mode, but today I thought I'd be specific. And the party most fresh in my mind is the Groovy one in my last post.
My beautiful friend Danielle just turned the big 5-0, which means she was born in 1960. So 1960 and all the hipness of that era started the party planning process. A cool blue and green napkin I found helped me determine the color scheme, and a font that just screams "1960's" found it's way into the invitation. Those beaded curtains that hung from doorways and windows in the sixties was how I came up with the accent strand on the invite itself, and I hoped I would find the perfect "curtain" that I could bring into the party decor. I hit pay-dirt at Cost Plus the day before the party! Fabulous.
A signature drink for a party is always a fun idea and the mojito fit perfectly into the scheme. One, it's the right color, green; and two, it's one of Danielle's favorite drinks. With this group of friends just sitting around chatting and eating makes for a fun night, but for this party I felt we needed an activity. Poetry reading. Yep, poetry reading. I asked each of the gals to write a limerick about the guest of honor which seemed simple enough to me. Five lines, that's all I asked for. There was a little balking at first but by party-time these women came up with the absolute funniest, sweetest, wittiest poems! It turned out to be the best part of the evening.
Maybe I should have thought a bit more before I settled on blue and green as the theme colors because when it comes to flowers blue is tough. I cruised over to the local nursery to see what I could find. Thinking the only blue flower I might find would be a hydrangea, which says "grandma" instead of "groovy". Don't get me wrong, I LOVE hydrangeas but they're just not right for this party. I wandered around with hopefulness and there with the herbs and tomato plants were mint plants! I decided that I could put them in a few containers and tuck some white flowers in tiny vases in between and at the end of the evening I could send the plants home with the guests. The perfect party favor for a 60's party is a little "weed" (I crack myself up) and since mint is a main ingredient in mojitos it fit right into the theme! And at the very very last minute I came upon a bunch of flowers that I also used in the decor, and something I had never seen before, Scottish Thistle. Thanks to Danielle for telling what they are or I would never have known! How weird, they are blue and green!
And that is how that party happened.
roovy! And groovy party-ers too. These fun friends embraced my silliness of creating a groovy entry into Pebblestone (our outdoor living space) that matched the invitation to my dear friend Danielle's birthday party. I added "Happy 50th Birthday Danielle" in vertical strands to a 60's style curtain I found at Cost Plus (love that store!) Danielle is the fun one on the right and the other two, Nancy and Renee, were overachievers in the limerick writing department! Lots of tears of laughter and joy!
It's a wonderful thing that our Founding Fathers managed to Declare our Independence in the summer. I love my country and I love that we traditionally celebrate it with outdoor gatherings. May your weekend be filled with patriotism for the red, white & blue... with a little barbecue too!
am in charge of a little ice cream thingy at church this week. No great surprise, my way of looking at a "little ice cream thingy" means a full-fledged party with a theme! And also, if anyone is going to go to the trouble to bring all the goodies and set it up one certainly wants people to eat the ice cream. Sure, it's best to say "no" to desserts most of the time but if the presentation is fabulous then it's harder to resist the temptation. So I'm shooting for a great presentation that will make it a true party and cause folks to dig in! The classic "I scream, you scream... " and we all know the rest, will make an appearance in pennant bunting form. Here's a preview..
