My cupcake dreams have been answered

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I came across this blog called The Cupcake Activist recently. This is a girl after my own heart. To say she enjoys cupcakes would probably be an understatement. If you look at her blog, you will see that she has visited a ton of shops and taken the time to review a bunch of them for you. I have not gotten through all her reviews as of yet, but it will certainly help me map out a birthday cupcake crawl (similar to a bar crawl but we'll still be able to drive).

She is holding a giveaway for The Cupcake Tower, of which I had never seen before. It is awesome. I am in love with it and want one. I'm not going to lie, I get more points in the giveaway if I blog about it. But I also wanted to make sure that all of you knew about this stand. There are four sizes to choose from and different ribbon kits to finish off the stand. Prices range from $34 to $160 and these stands will last for years to come. My dad created the cupcake stand for my wedding in 2003 and we had little to go from at the time. If only I had had the foresight to utilitze his amazing woodworking skills we would have been left with an heirloom instead of the styrophoam monster that was finally laid to rest after it's 4th move with us. Check out their gallery to see all kinds of inspiring ideas. And be sure to read The Cupcake Activist, not only for the giveaways and reviews, but for the yummy recipes she posts as well!!!!!

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Photos via The Cupcake Tower

Oh Snap!

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Okay, so I love hosting parties and I love taking photos but sometimes the two don't mix. I mean, you slave away for months making sure that every detail of the party is right but then you don't get any pictures of them because you are too busy being the best hostess. Or, you get your detail shots, but dangit, no pictures of the guests. I just about flipped when I saw a blurb on the Sony Party-Shot Automatic Photographer. "What the f is it?" you ask. Well, let me tell you. It's genius is what it is. It's a camera dock that takes party photos for you. It can turn 360 degrees and tilt up and down to get the party photos you don't have time to take yourself. With face recognition abilities, it tracks for faces to frame shots and takes candid photos that would make for a great memory book addition. Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!! I want one so bad. While my husband thinks our three year old could probably take better party photos then this contraption, I totally disagree. While our son excels at taking photos of his own eye, the technology put in to this little machine is for sure amazing. It is compatible with several Sony cameras but seems to be kind of difficult to find in stock online. The price is a relatively cheap $150, but the memories it will capture for you? Priceless. (I know, the "priceless" bit is so overdone but it totally fit!) Check out the video on the Sony site to see just how it works.

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First photo via Amazon

Second photo via Sony

Keep the party alive in pictures

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How do you capture the party?



I am in total photo mode right now. I just learned how to use photoshop actions!!! What the heck are those, you ask. They are perfect, artsy photos at the click of a button. Some photographer has taken the time to automate some of their favorite photo looks so that you can get the same effect without all the trial and error. That is totally how I roll. Just do it for me. Then I'm happy. So, I played around with it a bit during nap time today and can't wait to use it on my photos. But it got me thinking. We spend so much time putting a fabulous party together and most of the time we run out of time to take photos of all our details but also the party guests. I'm getting better at it. The best way for me to handle this is to ask someone else to get some shots so that I can stay in hostess mode. But since that person may or may not know who the party people are, you could end up with photos of some one's guest who no one knows or only pictures of the kids. As a reader of Photojojo, I thought I would look in to what ideas they have for party photos. Take a look here. None of them are very time consuming or expensive, but I bet you will end up with some amazing shots...Now, I am going to make every photo I have ever taken look like it's from the seventies, with just one button. I'm probably going to regret that in the morning.

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Photo Garland (coffee hasn't kicked in yet, no puns today)

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I have had a lot of opportunity lately to take photographs. Sometimes it is really hard for me to pick up my camera and shoot with two kids under foot. I'm going to be honest, I have way fewer photos of M then of my first child, O. Often, it is just me and I don't have a spotter for M when I'm trying to prop him up in silly poses. O is so over having his picture taken that I now have a series of his blurry back. And have I remembered to put the camera up high enough? O seems to really enjoy taking photos and seems to know that his Fisher Price digital camera simply doesn't compare to my Nikon. So I have been really excited with all the parties we have been having that allow me to pawn the kids off on a relative and leave me free to roam. And I have also found, that as M is starting to hold himself up more, I can get photos other then him just lying on a blanket. I am currently sorting through hundreds and hundreds of the digital photos we have taken since M's arrival in December and am trying to figure out how to display them. I found this great photo garland over on Decor8 this morning. I love that it incorporates fabric and larger photos then most other photo garlands. I think this would make amazing party decor for all kinds of party. What a great way to showcase photos from your babies first year. Or to celebrate a couple's courtship at a bridal shower or anniversary party. The fabric is so much warmer then cardstock and I love the sunny print they chose in this version. I think I will give this a try in our bedroom.

Here are other examples of photo garland: Martha Stewart, Party Perfect, and Celebrations.com.

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(bottom photo is one of my favorites of M, just had to share)

I've never FELT this way before

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I am so not in to the cutesy stuff. I like crafty things, but they can't be too overdone or fussy. For example, party hats. Of course, for little girls, over the top and frilly is fine, once in a while. But sometimes their are so many sparkles and feathers and pink and sequins that it sort of looks like all of the Disney fairies threw up on their head all at one time. Similarly for boys, if their party hat has too much foof (that is totally a word by the way) - well, I'm just going to say it - I think they look like sissys (I have never had to pluralize that before, it doesn't look right...). When I saw these hats by Cakies, I felt in love - get it (cause the hats are made from felt). They are totally cute but look modern and a bit unfinished (which they may not like me calling them, but I think of it as a good thing - you know not OVER done). I love that they are themey without being overwhelming. I love the colors. I love the shapes. I love the price ($36). This is totally one of those items that you could reuse over and over for special occasions or add to their dress up kits. I do not love dressing my kids up for parties. But I do love the idea of throwing on jeans, a white tshirt and the superhero crown for a super hero party. Totally cool and the kid will be way in to it. Check them out and purchase through their Etsy site. I didn't read all the fine print, but I imagine if you asked really nicely, you may be able to get her to work out a custom crown for you...and don't forget to check out all the other super cute hair clips.

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via Daily Stroll

Be my guest

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Dear Minutes,

Look, I know that there are only so many of you in a day. But I wanted to bring you up to speed on a few things. Have you heard of cloning? Cause they are doing it with sheep now. That isn't useful to me. But if you could get cloned, minutes, just think of all the stuff I could get done. Like O's party pictures. People are asking for them. And I just don't have enough of you to get those posted. Take right now for instance. I have a few spare of you and I am doing a super quick post so as not to leave the readers hanging (fyi, I usually write these the night before they show up on the blog). But then you know what I am going to do? Go to sleep. I don't feel good. My 4 month old is also sick. I imagine he'll want to take a chunk of my minutes in the middle of the night. Just because he can. So please, I beg you. Just say you'll look in to it. Also our ground transportation has improved by leaps and bounds. So instead of flying, like your kind (time) seems to do, please use a slower mode of transport. It would really help us all out. You see, I co-hosted an amazing bridal shower a few weekends ago, and those pictures need to get posted too. The Paper and Cake downloadable tablescape was AWESOME and I really want to show you what we did with it. But, time flies and that post is still on the to do list. At the shower the bride showed me something super cool though, and I am not sure why I didn't think of it (on account of how super cool I am). So I am going to take a few of you minutes and show you her beautiful guest book. We have all done the digital photo books by now. We've probably even branched out a bit and made recipe books. But she did one for her wedding guest book. Had this been around when I got married (or it probably was but hardly any one had digital cameras back then) I totally would have done this. She took her engagement photos and uploaded them to Shutterfly and is using that as her guest book. The rest of you are probably like, duh, but I hadn't thought of that!! For about $30.00, she has the best keepsake ever!!!! We used a blank Kolo photo album for ours but then you end up with all kinds of empty pages. Same thing with a traditional guest book. Not sure why most books include enough space for everyone at your party to leave their sentiments, which is usually their name or a brief sentence, but also enough room for the service staff, all your vendors, the little kid down the street and his science teacher. Lame. There are a ton of options available for these photo guest books including however many pages you want, cover finishes, design elements, font styles. Sheesh! I am so jealous. Of course all the other photo sites do these books too, but I really like how hers came out so I am sharing hers. You can purchase one just like it from Shutterfly. Thank you for your time, minutes (ha!). I appreciate you hearing me out.

Sincerely,

S-

Totally Personal Invites

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I cannot believe that spring break is already over! This was my first "spring break" experience with my baby in kindergarten...quite a different experience from the ones I had in college but nevertheless, fun. We even got to see S and family which is something we haven't been able to do much since they moved out of the OC and all. AND, my little girl totally grew up over the break.

So first, there's the whole losing teeth thing. (Funny story about that, she actually ASKED me to pull out her first two loose teeth. I mean, they were way over due to come out anyway, but really - have you ever had the pleasure of this experience? I can honestly say this is one milestone that as a mom I didn't necessarily want to be totally involved in every detail of...I would have been totally content with a "Mommy, look, I lost it!", but no...I get a "Mommy, pull it out so it doesn't come out in my sleep and choke me until I die (ok, so yes, she's a little bit of a drama queen, but still).....)

Ok, so anyway, first there's the teeth and then she suddenly decides that she no longer needs me at bedtime (consequently, I am not necessarily too bummed about this). See, apparently her 3 year old cousin O, who she shared a bedroom with during our stay with S and family, doesn't need someone to lay with him every night. So therefore, neither does she. OH...AND...she has decided that she is giving up Hannah Montana as her favorite recording artist in favor of Taylor Swift. This is so weird for me.

Thankfully, I still have my two year old to give me my baby fix for the moment and so I can still feel ok about the one million parenting magazines that I seem to have subscribed to. And actually, that's where I actually found today's post - in the new issue of Parents magazine, which also happens to be chock full of party tidbits. These invitations from poseprints.com were featured in a little blurb and I fell in love. Basically, they take a photo of your guest of honor and turn them into an adorable little cartoon character featured on your party's invitations. Super cute and totally appropriate for any age - six, sixteen, or even my six year old who THINKS she's sixteen. The invites are about $2 each, not ridiculously expensive, and the designs are really cute, plus its something that hasn't been done a million times before. Oh, and what - you aren't in the middle of planning a party? Poseprints also do custom stationery which make great gifts - maybe Mom needs some for Mother's Day????

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Are you puzzled?

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Let the excuses begin. Okay, so the 3rd birthday party of the century is just a few weeks away (as is Easter and my niece's party) so I am in desperate need of time to get stuff done. I am in the process of designing all the signs, there are still lists to be made and recipes to pull. So, I will post today and Thursday, but I am taking Friday off. And today's post will be short and sweet. Check out these cool design your own puzzles I found on Droolicious. The Create-A-Puzzle Kits are made of a durable card board that will hold just about any kind of paint or marker your kids may have. They are sold in packs of 12 for just $5.59 from Dick Blick. Two types are available, one for kids under 7 years of age with 9 pieces and one for those over 7 years of age with 16 pieces. They stay together until you break them apart the first time. These would be super cute as a party invitation (if you are having a fairly small party and your kid has enough patience to write out all the info several times) or a great activity/favor. Of course these would be great for any and all children's party but what a cute way to invite the ladies over for a cooking party? You can send out the puzzles with the evenings recipe on it. Or, make it part of a murder mystery party or ice breaker and send out one piece with each invitation and ask the guests to bring them along to the party. Everyone is a kid at heart when a puzzle is involved!

S-

Bestow my beating heart

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I quit my job back in September and I thought I would have more time for Internet research for this blog. But actually, I got a lot more done when I was working (shhhhh, don't tell). But now with the new baby here, I am finally starting to see a pattern for me to work in some computer time (that won't have the added suspense of potential spit up in the keyboard). It is on quiet mornings like these that I check out the old stand-bys, the daily reads that never disappoint. But alas, what's this?!!! Something new!!!! As I was checking in on Party Perfect Blog, there was a picture of a heart. I have to be honest, I wasn't really drawn to the item, but in a quest to find the best of the best, I decided to click on the link under the photo. Boom. There it is. A new favorite blog and a total resource for all of us party planners. D. Sharp "A Practical Compendium of Random Things." It is the kind of blog that you could spend days looking at. There are beautiful vintage finds to tickle your fancy, new graphic designers to check out and so many other things to make your eyes happy. The part I think you all will really be interested is a section called "Bestow - Ideas for Gifts and Packaging" and it is all gorgeous! And a lot of it can be figured in to your party decor. You have to check it out. There is a download available for the XOXO wine hangers. We LOVE that. And if you are like me, who strives to be crafty but just can't make things look as beautiful as they are supposed to, there is a shop of "fine paper luxuries" (totally amazing, beautiful, stunning...with prices to match :() and also an etsy shop. And the part I love the most, she is a mom (plus so many other things like the rest of us). And she sees all this beauty and humor in the world and wants to share it with the rest of us. (Her Dispatches from Parenthood section is pretty great!!!) So check out the site! And let us know if you work any of the Bestow ideas into your parties.

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A rambling, mess of a post, but some good stuff to know about...

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Sorry for the late post today. I was going to be lazy and not post today but I don't want to let my loyal reader down...:) O, my son, decided to get up extra early today and as I was checking my email from my iphone all snuggly in bed with him, I saw exactly what I wanted to post about. I got an email from Junior Society (I've mentioned them before but you HAVE to sign up for their emails!) with a holiday gift guide. And what do I see? The perfect chalk to go with a the perfect lap chalkboard I purchased from Etsy seller Little Alouette yesterday. So I clicked over to find out more about the chalk and found some other great stuff on a website called Linda Ferrol Studio. I love unique gift items, and there are plenty to be found on the site. But you HAVE to see her Celebration section. Although somewhat small (I beg of you...please expand!) the items are unique and awesome. I can't wait for O's next birthday so I can get the wish boats!!! As for gifts, you have to check out this awesome memory game. And now quickly back to Junior Society. You must go to their website and check out the craft fairs that they will be attending for the upcoming holiday season. They also run a shop called Mahar Dry Goods and they sell amazing products, with a great selection of party products. The craft fairs are a great way to touch and feel the items before you buy. They are quality items and would make great holiday presents. Buy all your holiday presents from them! Now, if only I could get them to do a show in North San Diego County...give a pregnant girl a break!!

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Who knew a hole in the head could be so cute?

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Sleep. Where have you gone? I miss you so. This post is being written by a very tired mom to be who can no longer sleep through the night and probably can't create coherent sentences either. But enough about me. Let's talk keepsakes. I have always been a fan of celebration plates. You know, those plates that you get to use maybe once or twice a year to eat your dinner or cake off of? The ones that are special to your family and it is super exciting when you get to use it? I am still on the market for the perfect plate for my young family, but I came across these really cute candle holders this morning on Droolicious and had to share. These are a bit more feminine than I would probably use, especially since I will have two boys very shortly, but I think they are super adorable. These 4" wooden picks come with a hole in the top of their head to fit a standard candle. These are a bit more whimsical than I am usually drawn too, but love them just the same. They are sealed so that you can wash any frosting off and use for birthdays, sick days, holidays, any day you want your child to feel extra special. At $30, it is an investment, but if taken care of properly, you can probably pass this on to your little girl's little girl. There are a few hair color and dress pattern options to choose from so hopefully you can find one that resembles your own little doll. I think this would be great to use at a baby shower and then gifted to the mom to be, or even would be great for a grandma to have for when she entertains the little ones. Buy it here at The Small Object. Okay, back to online Christmas shopping. I have to plan ahead for the cankles I will inevitably get. Don't want to have to drag those bricks around a mall to finish my Xmas shopping!

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The best kind of mono you can have - a monogram

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I literally have hundreds of party products just waiting to be posted about. But sometimes, none of them seem to fit my mood. So here I was dreading what I should post about for today. And as I was bouncing around the world wide web, this site practically fell in to my lap. Even though is was mere moments ago, I can't remember how I ended up at Lucky Designs. I know I clicked through about three different blogs to come across theirs. Their blog was beautifully designed so I only imagined what their products would look like too. Now, you know that A and I talk about those special little touches to show your party prowess. Luckily A and I were blessed with at least a basic sense of graphic design (please note, the blog design is still a work in progress so don't judge a book by it's cover) and are able to turn out some pretty great printed materials for parties. But we are also aware that a lot of you out there, do not have the graphic design ability or interest to learn to do it yourself. That is is where a great company like Lucky Designs comes in. I am freaking in love with their monograms. Their ready made library features a ton of modern, clean, graphic designs to choose from. And the best part? They are $8!!!!!!!!!! or 2 for $12. And if they do not have something that you are interested in (which also means you are probably crazy because they are super awesome), they will work on a custom monogram with you for around $30 a piece. Their website also notes that they have baby monograms, although the site is under construction and I couldn't see any examples of those. I don't want to give anything away here, but T, or rather her baby boy to be, may just end up being the proud owner of one of these monograms. I'm just saying...They also create invitations, note cards, etc. and have a lot of new products coming soon. I can't wait to see what they come up with. I am a fan!

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Stuck on stickers

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I have a thing for wall decals. If you are a loyal reader, you will realize that I like a lot of things. Which means, that I like to spend my money and therefore don't have any. Which is why, an aim of this blog, is to bring you items that are affordable or at least realistic for your party planning. There are some great wall decals out there, but so many of them tend to cost so much money. Having a printer friend who actually provided a full wall mural decal for a recent new mom celebrity, I know how much they cost to make. And how much they get marked up. That being said, I was super excited to come across Dali Decals. I first saw one of their decals (of a very large Bruce Lee) via Rare Bird Finds (I have mentioned that site before, they find the coolest stuff!!!). But like everything else, it took me about a month to actually make it to their website to the decal website to look around. I love it!!! There are several off-shoots of the company which looks like it started out making decals for race cars and other man-type things. My favorite find is the custom monogram decal for a whopping $18!!!!!! Or have a full name decal made for $35. These decals would be awesome for a baby or bridal shower, milestone birthday, kids party and more. That price is amazing. Other companies charge considerably more for these. They also do some really great decals for the home, including a silhouette of a chandelier that could be really great for dressing up a room for a gathering. Please go their etsy site and check them out. Beware, they also have an etsy site called "offensive decals". But doesn't that name make you want to check it out too? Like how offensive can a wall decal be? To be honest, I only looked at the first 3 decals (which were not that offensive) before I clicked over to write this, so don't say I didn't warn you. The decals sound really easy to install, but they are not reusable. You may want to order 2 at a time to use one at the shower and then gift one to the guest of honor. If we can ever figure out a name for this new baby in my belly, I will be purchasing a monogram. I think this may be a new party standard from now on. I love these!!!

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Taking the "ow" out of bridal shower

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I'm pretty sure I am one of the few people on the planet that has a favorite wedding planner. Okay, well, I have several. But one of the first and finest that I learned about was Mindy Weiss. I even dragged some friends to the local Macy's one night when she was giving a talk on wedding planning (never mind that I had planned my wedding two years prior...). It seems that she puts so much thought in to the weddings and really helps the brides to uncover special meaning and then presents things in a modern and classy way. I could be way off base here as she probably employs a virtual army of people to produce and execute these events, but I digress as usual...I knew that she had her own line of wedding planning products which, of course, came out after my wedding, but I just realized that she also has two great products that are specifically for the bridal shower. One of which is a really cute Bridal Bingo, complete with heart crystals to mark off the squares. And this isn't your standard bingo, no, it uses words associated with weddings. The kit comes with enough cards for 20 players and is done in her signature robin's egg blue and cream color palette with whimsical illustrations. The second product is a bridal shower "Bow"quet Kit!!!! Finally! I am not sure why someone didn't think of this before. Instead of having your maid of honor potentially stab herself while trying to poke holes through a paper plate in an effort to give the bride, supposedly someone close to her, a lame attempt at a ribbon bouquet, for just $12.50, you get a heart shaped cut out with an area for personalization as well as directions and holes for the ribbons. Let's class up those ribbon bouquets, bee-yatchs. The kits can be found at several websites, including Mindy's own site, Bliss Weddings Market, Advantage Bridal or you can google the product to find more.

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