Ella's Minnie Mouse Birthday Bash!

I just love all things with polka dots...so Minnie Mouse was a perfect theme for this adorable  birthday party! We were leaving for Disney World just a week later...so we had the mouse on our mind! 

I made these personalized place mats for each guest, with the Minnie silhouette at the top. Of course we had to have "the ears"! I found these at Party City ...at a great price! The personalized Minnie themed water bottles were a cute take home gift and a great additional decoration as well.

Here is our birthday girl with her ears and handmade Minnie shirt! I made these with supplies from Michaels. They are 100% washable. We attached Minnie's bow with a snap, so when it is time to wash...you just unsnap the bow and throw it in the washing machine...and snap it back on when it is clean! I can't tell you how many grosgrain ribbon shirts I have ruined in the wash!

 Here is Big Sister Ainsley modeling the Minnie t-shirt.

 Grammie and the birthday girl! Everyone who comes to one of my girls birthday parties has to wear a hat! I found these adorable Mickey hats at Party City.












 

I just love a floral centerpiece! I found this milk glass vase at a resale shop in St Louis...best part...it was only $4!!! I am really into milk glass right now, which can become a pretty expensive hobby. I have found that going to resale shops and exploring web sites like ebay are the best way to go. My Grandma loved this one so much that I had to leave it with her! She has it in her black and white bedroom! 

 

My good friend, Bekah, made these sweet ribbons for each girl! We had both wanted to learn how to make korker ribbons, so she said that she would try it. It worked and they turned out SUPER CUTE! 

My girls LOVE a pedicure...I am probably spoiling them for their future husbands! It has become a tradition at our parties to have flip flops for all the girls!

We painted red and black toes...at first I was not happy...but they turned out really cute! Grammie even had her toes painted to get ready for Disney World!

Since we had the party out of town...I didn't have the time to make a birthday cake. I was a little disappointed. We found this surprisingly yummy red velvet cake along with mini strawberry cupcakes at Walmart and just decorated them up. Ella picked out the Minnie and the candles that topped her cake. 

She loved her cake and is still talking about how she had a cake AND cupcakes at her party!

 

   Ultimately, this is what it is all about...one happy family!  

            Thanks to all our friends and family for sharing

this special day with us!

Our Impromptu Halloween Party

We had some big plans over the Halloween weekend...unfortunately, both of my girls were getting over colds so we had to miss our big party plans. What is a Momma to do...make our own party! We didn't have a lot of time, so I just went to the local grocery and picked up a few things and then added some of our homemade treats to the mix! The best part is that my girls got to help me! 

 

I got out some old Halloween fabric that I had never used to make a table cloth. I got this at Hobby Lobby.

I also found this adorable ghost at Hobby Lobby, on a 50% off coupon day, and could not figure out where he could go...I found the perfect place, front and center on our table! The mini pumpkins were from our family trip to the pumpkin patch.

 OK...these little cupcake holders might be one of the cutest things that I have found. I went to Crate & Barrel back in August. When I saw these, I knew I had to get them! 

At under $2, the price was right! I didn't really have time to make cupcakes, so I just ran to the store and found these for under $5. Not as good as homemade, but in a pinch...they work!

 

The one thing I did not skimp on was my truffles! I made a small batch and my girls 

dipped them and provided the confetti sprinkles. For a 3 and 6 year old, I think they turned out great! Maybe I should put them to work!

All in all I was very happy about our impromptu party! The best thing was getting to do it with my girls! We had a great night of trick or treating...followed by our big party for 4!

As always, the two faces above are the reason for all of this! I love to see those smiling, and in this picture dirty, faces! I hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween!!!

Now onto the next holiday...here we come Thanksgiving!!!

Getting ready for a very busy Fall!

Happy Fall everyone! Sorry we haven't had any blog entries in the past few months...we have been SO BUSY! Between parties, making truffles and cakepops and starting a new school year of homeschooling my daughters, it seems like the past few months have just flown by! We have a lot of new great things coming up in the months to come. I will be posting very soon about our holiday gifts! We will be packaging up our Bella Boo Truffles, cakepops in several yummy flavors and peanut brittle for gift giving! I am in the process of getting all of our new packaging set up and getting a list out of all our holiday flavors! Check back soon or follow us on facebook here to get all the details!

We will also be posting our Halloween celebration soon!

 

90th Birthday Celebration!!!

How many 90th Birthday parties have you been to? We had the privilege to throw a birthday bash for not one, but two wonderful 90 year olds! This had to be something special and fit in a lot of their favorite things. They wanted something classic and fun...so we used black and white polka dots and damask with accents of a burgundy red. 

First things first...the invitation. 

 

I wanted to include a picture from around the time of their wedding, 70 years ago in January, and a recent picture. I found these premade invites that we were able to personalize with our colors and pictures. 

Here is our birthday boy and girl! Uluss & Helen are the most vibrant and active 90 year olds that I have ever met. What you can't see from this picture is that she wore a polka dot skirt to match the party. Don't they look cute!

 Each table had a polka dot or damask runner with these cute centerpieces and apothecary jars filled with black, white and red Sixlets...my favorite! Each centerpiece had a personalized topper with the happy couples names and a "90" background.

Here are some pics of all of the arrangements and personalized cupcake tapper and centerpiece toppers that we made for their special day!

 The couple's monogram has to be my personal favorite! But then, I love anything with a monogram!

On to the food! One of their favorite meals is BBQ with all the trimmings...so that is what we gave them! Thanks to River City Catering & Banquets for providing all of the wonderful pulled pork and chicken along with their WONDERFUL baked beans. If you live in the St Louis/St Charles MO area...you must go and check them out! If you just want a meal or a very small gathering check out Stumpys House of BBQ same food on a smaller scale. They are super friendly to work with and, like I said, the food is amazing! Check out this spread!

We had a rather large party...over 160 people and the great people over at River City helped us to get all that we need with a little extra for the family to take home. We decorated the buffet table with a black/white polka dot runner with burgundy bandannas to give it that "Arkansas" feel...which is where Uluss & Helen are originally from.

 When Helen was a younger girl, her favorite soda was Nu-Grape. I found it, along with some vintage Dr. Pepper's, to have at their big bash. With the help of Homer Soda Company 
we were able to get that special thing for them to share with all of their friends. I'll tell you 
what...if you are looking for a special gift or unique idea for a party go check them out! They have every soda I have every heard of, and a lot I had no clue about. Click HERE 
to check out their Facebook page...tell them that Bella Boo sent ya! 

When I got the bottles home...I got a very special surprise! Nu-Grape was established in 1921! Which is the year that Uluss & Helen were born! I couldn't have planned that one if I tried!

On to all the SWEETS TABLE!!! We decorated with damask and burgundy materials. I created the Happy Birthday banner with my trusty Cricut and used polka dot tissue pom-poms.

 My parties are just not complete without "Bella Boo Truffles" ...everyone loves them, so we have them at every event!

 Here is my cake...a little melted. It was well over 100 degrees that day, but it made it!!! I used some mini cookies from Christina at Cookies Are My Canvas  to accent the polka dot cake.

I am newer to the art of cake pops...these are german chocolate with coconut and pecans. They were so YUMMY! We ran out of cake pops before we could cut the cake!

 OK...I have to brag again about Cookies Are My Canvas ! Christina makes the most beautiful cookies that taste just as good as they look. She shipped us these cookies with such care...not one broken or even smudged. I had several people come up to me and say, "Are we supposed to eat these? They are to pretty to eat!" I told them if they didn't eat them, then I sure was going to! We just love Christina for her wonderful creations and, as my Grandma says, "She is from "God's country"(Arkansas) so she is good people!" Thanks Christina!

 

This is my Grandma, Helen Green...aka the birthday girl! I have to put a quick note about this most amazing woman. I would not know how to tie a bow, let alone plan and create parties without her. When I was very young she would teach me how to sew and crochet. As I got older she encouraged me to cook with her and make her special spritz cookies at Christmas along with many other family favorites. We would make crafts and paint and anything that I wanted to try, she was always there to encourage me. She is still trying out new recipes and in our daily phone conversations we talk about all of our ideas for upcoming parties and events. She is my biggest fan and cheerleader with all thinks crafty...and I am her biggest fan. She is the best mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend and Christian woman. She has devoted her life to her family and service to others. I am so lucky to still have this most amazing woman in my life and in the lives of my daughters. If you are lucky, like me, to have your grandmother still with you here on Earth...call her today. Tell her how special she is to you! Share your life with her...I guarantee you won't regret it! I Love You Gammaw!!!

Kiersten's Garden Party Birthday Celebration!

When Kiersten's Mor-Mor (Swedish for Grandma), asked me to do her 7th birthday, I was very excited because I know Kiersten loves all things girlie! I asked little K, which is what we call her, what she wanted...she said pink flowers and make-up, that I can do! What could be more dainty and girlie than a garden party! 

I used the color palette of mostly pink and yellow, our birthday girl's favorite colors, and some pale green. I found these wonderful pink and cream floral pictures at IKEA and used that as an inspiration. You can get some of the greatest props at IKEA...and you gotta love the price! I got both of these pictures for under $15 and they will look great in my girl's rooms or in our guest bathroom. I am all about re-purposing things!

I found some of the most beautiful fabrics to use! I am a sucker for damask...and I fed my
need with this party. I love the damask runner on this table! Each girl had their own nosegay at their seat, which I made out of some clearance silks and yellow ribbon. I found the most adorable topiary place card holders at Hobby Lobby and used my trusty Cricut to cut pink flowers for their name cards. My favorite thing on the table were the silk arrangements that my Grandma Green and I made together! Are they not wonderful! I learned everything I know from Grandma and I was so excited that she agreed to help me! 

 

On the back of each girls chair was there beautiful silk flower shirt, made by Illeana's Bowtique! These pictures do not do these shirts justice...to quote a friend, "They are STUNNING!!!" You must go and check out her etsy shop here! By the end of the party some of the mom's were wanting a shirt for themselves!

 

Sweets, sweets and more sweets!!! Our guests enjoyed birthday cake, of course, pink flower chocolate suckers, lemon cupcake pops (my favorite!) adorable flower cookies and Bella Boo Truffles! A special thanks to Christina from Cookies are my Canvas for the beautiful and delicious flowers cookies! They were almost to pretty to eat...almost! To keep in theme I laid the cookies on a bed of "Easter grass"...the girls loved it!

 The girls decorated their cupcakes with Sixlets and little candy flowers from Wilton. We used green icing for grass and they made their own gardens on their cupcakes. We then put their creations in sheer food boxes for them to take home and enjoy later!

Cake Time!!! I made my cake the day before on what was probably the hottest day of the year, so far! I was petrified that all that fondant work was going to melt everywhere...so I took it over the night before, so that the sun wouldn't beat down on it! It made it! I was so relieved!!!

 

On to the makeovers!!!We had a beauty bar full of necklaces, rings in personalized boxes, eye shadow, lipgloss, face glitter and personalized crystal bracelets. We even had a butterfly for each girl to put in their hair or on their necklaces! 

  The girls had a great time...aren't they beautiful!!! In addition to their Illeana's Bowtique t-shirts, each girl was given a tutu that I made. Our birthday girl, Kiersten, pictured in the middle, got a very special birthday skirt from AdoraBelle Pettiskirts! She loves it and didn't want to take it off after the party. If you are ever in need of a pettiskirt...or just want one because they are awesome...you have to check out AdoraBelle!

 

Last but not least...pedicure time!!! We set up an archway with garland for our pedicure bar. We also used it for a background for our thank you pictures! Each girl got their own flip-flops with their names on them. 

When it was time to go, the girls took home all of their beauty bar finds and a special flower pen that K's Grandma made...pictured in the beauty bar pictures...and their custom cupcakes home. We had our birthday girl write a special note of thanks to her guests and framed it.

All of the girls seemed to have a wonderful time...most importantly, Kiersten loved everything about her special day!!! 

Thanks again to:

Illeana's Bowtique

Cookies are my Canvas

AdoraBelle

Lynn "Mor-Mor" Anderson