Happy Sunday! This past week brought a special 3 year old her dream birthday party. This party is proof that even if you don't have much money you can have a great party! First we start off with the invitations...

These Etsy made Beauty and the Beast Invitations are "print your own". Basically the designer on Etsy formats the inviation for you and then you print it out yourself on photo paper, pop into an envelope and mail. Easy as that.

 Michaels Craft Stores have all sorts of crystals that already have glue on them. This set came as you see on the box. I just bought an extra set for the flatware and then just stuck them on. The box is a plain white box embellished with the crystals and a Belle scrapbooking sticker.

You can see how two or three of these crystals helped "bling" out the flatware. All the little, and big, girls loved this touch! One of them pointed out the "Mickey Ears" that had accidentally been added to a fork.

We served Hot Dogs and chips, had a veggie platter as well as a fruit platter and offered juice, soda or ice cold water to drink. Perfect for this low key party. We even had one of the figurines play "napkin weight" for those napkins near the lunch food.

But we were there for the little girls so of course there were Princess goody bags. We had discussed having a pinata for the kids to break open but since most of the kids were under the age of 4 we figured just putting the pinata candy into the goody bags was a better idea.

 We held the party in a park where there was already a little water play area. We even added this info on the invites so that the parents would know to bring swim wear for their little ones. It was a big hit!

The Cake Table. Most of the budget went into the food, especially this cake from Cat's Cakes. It fit right into the decor of blinged out flatware, Princess plates, pink and yellow napkins, tablecloths and, of course, lots of Princess themed gifts for the Birthday Girl.

This cake serves 35 and was a big hit with the Birthday Girl. She pulled people over to "her" table several times to see her cake...even if they had seen it before! LOL! The figurines are all part of a play set that the Birthday Girl got to keep after the party. She was thrilled.

Next week will feature a very cute baby shower that we were able to attend this past weekend!

See you then!
Cat

 This week we have a Guest Blogger! We hope you get a lot of good tips on How to Plan a Baby Shower!

 How to Plan the Greatest Baby Shower for Your Guest of Honor
Planning a baby shower can be almost as much fun as expecting the little bundle of joy yourself. If you’re planning a shower for your sister, long-time best friend, coworker, or any other expecting person in your life, there are a ton of options available to make your shower unique and amazing. All hostesses want to give the mom-to-be a memorable experience while ensuring their guests have a great time. These baby shower ideas can help you accomplish that while making your job much easier.

 Choosing a Date
Since most baby showers are not surprise parties, working with the mom-to-be on a date for the shower is a good idea. Some parents prefer to wait until after the birth of the baby to stock the nursery. Others prefer their babies to be the guest of honor at their own shower. However, traditionally baby showers are thrown around two months before the due date. Talk with your guest of honor and decide on a date for the big day.

Invitations
Make sure to get the invitations out at least 3 weeks prior to the baby shower. Your guest of honor can help you with the guest list and addresses. You will also need to decide if children or men will be allowed. Traditionally, a baby shower is a women-exclusive event. However, some moms welcome other children and even the father of the baby to attend.

Themes
A themed baby shower isn’t necessary. The decision is entirely up to you. However, if you do choose a theme, make sure your theme is appropriate. Flowers are an excellent baby shower theme idea. Polka dots, ABC’s, Disney, Noah’s Ark, or a country theme are all great choices. The idea is to know the mom. Theme the shower around her tastes and it’s sure to be a success. It isn’t necessary to go overboard on the decorations. The center of attention will be the mom-to-be.

 Menu
Depending on your shower's level of formality, your menu options will vary. Do you want to have an elegant, sit-down brunch? Or would a pot-luck or finger foods do the job? While most eating will be done while socializing and showering praise on the mommy, easy to handle, finger foods are often the best choice. Cheeses, salads, fruits, sandwiches, and veggie tarts are all good ideas. Keep it simple. You don’t need to prepare a feast, just enough to satisfy the hunger of your guests and entertain.

 Games

Easily the most fun part of the event, games are always a huge hit at baby showers. There are literally hundreds of baby shower game ideas. Try having your guests guess how many toilet paper sheets it will take to wrap around the mommy’s belly. Have all your guests put a paper plate on their head and attempt to draw a baby on it. The finished products are sure to get a ton of laughs. You can even have each baby shower guest put a slip of paper in a bowl with their favorite baby names. If the parents have yet to decide on a name, they can consider these later.

A baby shower is something that moms will always remember when looking back on their pregnancies. Everyone loves to get together and celebrate the birth of their loved one’s babies. By planning a personalized, fun baby shower for your guest of honor, you will not only give her the baby shower of her dreams, but you’re sure to have a blast celebrating with her as well.

Elori Garder writes about marriage planning and family health at http://flowerdelivery.net. 

Next week I will bring you a fun Park Party for a special Birthday Girl! See you then!

Cat

 Happy Monday! If you caught the Cake Blog yesterday then you saw Nikki's Bridal Shower cake. Today is the party plan to go with that cake. Today it's all about flowers and color! Lots of color!

 Of course we begin with the invitation. These would be easy to DIY but there are plenty of choices out there like this one from Etsy!

 If you want even more color then how about these from CatchMyParty! They make quite the color statement and set the perfect mood for your colorful shower!

 The easy thing about this plan is that there is no "set" flower for the centerpieces. Think varied color and texture, not a specific flower for your arrangements! This is also economical because you can buy those very colorful supermarket bouquets and save lots of cash! Normally I wouldn't buy those because they only last a day or so..well, your shower is only a few hours so a bouquet that only lasts for two days covers the time needed as well as saves you money.

 If you do have the budget to allow a floral designer to work some magic then what about something fun like these poppies in a grass lined tray? We did something very similar to this for our Alice In Wonderland Bridal Shower. We used the grass lined trays and then filled multi-decorated teapots with colorful flowers.

 Just this past week I was in Michaels Craft Store and saw the kit for these pom poms! How wonderfully colorful for the ceiling of your event space or just grouped over the cake table!

 If you don't have a huge budget and are using someones backyard it doesn't mean you can't make a huge statement with your decor. Using 12x12 scrapbook paper for place mats, layered colored paper plates and layered colored paper napkins, colorful paper cups and painted tin cans to hold the flowers pulls it all together very economically. Top it off with different colored paper lanterns and you have quite the statement of color and texture going on without killing your budget!

 Now onto the food and drink. Lemonaid is a popular drink for Bridal Showers because almost everyone likes it and it's very economical. You can punch up your lemonaid by adding in slices of lemon, orange, lime and dropping a few cherries in there too! If you are setting up a buffet you can set up the glasses that are layered with the fruit and ice so all your guest needs to do is pour the lemonaid and they have a bright, colorful and yummy drink!

 Nikki is a vegetarian so I figured I'd follow that theme for the party. A yogurt bar stocked with all sorts of chopped up fruit will not only be a great brunch option but will be a very colorful one for this color packed shower theme!

 How about a colorful way to serve those veggies? Just cut your bread on the diagonal, scoop out just a bit of the center, fill with dip and stick in your veggie spears. SO yummy and so colorful!

 If you are thinking you can't have "real" food without meat consider the Margherita Pizza option! Pizza dough, even prebaked rounds, topped with some sauce, sliced mozzarella and basil makes for a delicious but filling option for your party without needing any meat on the buffet. 

 Of course there will be cake but what about ice cream too!?! Hollow out lemons and oranges and then fill them with different colors of sherbet and you end up with a cool and colorful treat for your guests!

 Favors don't have to be expensive either. To make these you just print out a few page fulls of your design and then cut them down to 3 inch by 3 inch squares.  Wrap up candy in cellophane or even plastic wrap, tie off the ends with ribbon and then wrap your decorated squares around and use double stick tape to secure it. A couple of hours work and you end up with some really cute favors to place on each plate!

 But if you are less of a "do it yourself" person and more of a "pay someone else" person then how about these very cute little purse favors filled with multi-colored candy! Top off with a place card with the guests name printed on it and you end up with a cute colorful favor for your guests!

Lastly is the cake. This creation is full of the color, texture and whimsy that is featured all throughout this party design. Hours of work goes into a cake like this so it's not a budget friendly design but it makes for a showstopper of a centerpiece for your party. If $7 per serving isn't in your budget then consider having just a few of the multicolored flowers on top or a couple at each tier in order to bring the cost down until it's back inside your budget.

This party was designed for a very cheerful, bright, bubbly, colorful girl. It's full of "happy" everywhere you look. Perfect for a Bridal Shower and the happy Bride to Be!

Next week we have a guest contributor who is all about Baby Showers! See you then!

Cat

 Happy Monday! For some girls only Pink will do when it comes to their weddings. While most guys feel that the wedding is their girl's day and she can do what she wants, most draw the line when it comes to pink. It is one of those colors that can become "too much" very quickly. But there are ways to have a "Pink Wedding" and still have it look Classic and Elegant and not like a whole bunch of Pink Faeries had their way with your Day. 

 We begin with these lovely Pink Orchid invitations from WeddingPaperDivas.com. Just a touch of pink to set the mood while keeping it simple and elegant.

Wedding Paper Divas

 But if you are "The" Pink Girl and your Groom has let you go wild with your color style then why not really make an impression with your invitation?! These are also from WeddingPaperDivas.com and would definitely make a statement!

 There are several directions you can go with the dresses, including your own! Yup, they make pink wedding gowns too! Your Bridesmaids might not be Pink Girls so you may want to consider going with a light pink dress like the one pictured above.

 Or if your girls are ok with pink then why not something that makes a bit more impact and go with a medium shade of pink? I love how they chose a style that mimicked the Brides dress for this wedding!

 But if you are a Pink Girl who wants to really make a huge statement then go with a dark "here we come" pink Bridesmaids dress. Just make sure your girls are on board with this selection because it is a whole bunch of pink to pull off. As you can tell, by the three styles pictured, the darker the dress, the more the white of the wedding dress stands out! What a beautiful frame for you!

 Flowers for the Bride are fairly easy but why not give your girls all white bouquets while you get to show off something like this gorgeous Shades of Pink bouquet? This would be stunning against your white gown!

 As with the dresses, there are many ways you can go with your Ceremony Space. From the draped chiffon to the chair back ties to the dark pink runner covered in pink and yellow rose petals, this is a Pink Girl's dream.

 But if you don't have that sort of freedom in your wedding space, and many churches don't allow a lot of decoration, then consider just decorating the aisle. Even just the head of the aisle as pictured above. I love how they worked from light to dark with the rose petals to make the head of the aisle truly special.

Chair backs don't have to be expensive or hard to decorate. These are just simple chiffon panels that are tied into a square knot where they meet at the back of the chair. Each one would take just seconds to do and, if you need it to be even more budget conscious, you could use tulle and each chair would only cost a few dimes each to decorate! 

 Carnations are also an inexpensive way to decorate for your wedding day. These are carnation tops that have been tucked into an oasis tray to give a very full presentation and then the escort cards are just set on top. Gorgeous!

 Just because you don't have a lot of guests doesn't mean it can't be gorgeous and elegant. Consider using floral fabric to drape each table for an outdoor Garden theme. Use your setting to help with the decorating and then work that into your Pink Theme.

 Indoors you can do like Martha Stewart did and go with shades of pink for your tables. From the flowers to the napkins to the tablecloths themselves you can work on adding your Pink everywhere.

 If you don't have thousands to spend on flowers then consider making your splash with a white set up and a few of these bud vases lined up down each table. Very easy to DIY, this arrangement can save you lots of dollars you can use elsewhere in your Day.

 Remember to use your favors to add that splash of color as well! One of these pretty pink boxes from Littlethingsfavors.com, filled with candy or a candle, and then placed in the center of the plate or at the head of each place setting would be perfect.

 Or make a bigger splash with these rose pomander candles, also from Littlethingsfavors.com, in their transparent boxes set out as a wonderful Thank you to your guests.

 Finally there is cake. This lovely arrangement from Alsoheaven.com is a lovely way to have your touch of pink without going over the top. A sweet little cutting cake on top and easy to eat cupcakes below. Perfect for a small wedding.

But if making a statement is what you want to do then something like this incredible cake from SaltCakeCity.com would be the ticket! This is NOT a budget cake but is a wonderful over the top centerpiece for your wedding! Don't have 300 people to feed but still want the splash? Then have your caker make the bottom two or even three tiers "dummy" tiers. They are covered the exact same way as the "real" cake tiers so you won't save much money, but you also won't have a whole bunch of cake left over either and still have your amazing cake for your Wedding Day!

I know that, for some, this Pink Wedding is just Pink Overload. But for you Pink Girls out there, I hope you got some really wonderful ideas for your day!

See you next week with a Bridal Shower I've been dying to share with you all!

Cat