parties — The Pleated Poppy

December 6, 2011

my sister-in-law, courtney (sean’s youngest sister), is a 10 year cancer survivor!

to celebrate, her husband wanted to surprise her on her birthday with a party – a “hooray! courtney is alive!” party.

he gathered together family and friends that supported her ten years ago in the hospital and through prayer.

he couldn’t really be involved in the decorating part of the party because this was a secret after all, i was called in (along with mother-in-law and sisters) to help out. since this party was the same week as the queen bee market (insane!) my resources and time were very limited. so before packing up for the market, i grabbed the biggest box i could find and started gathering things around the house. i still had no direction for a theme, but just grabbed things that were pretty together. within a few minutes i realized all the things i grabbed were grass green and turquoise, with a little bit of silver thrown in – so that’s what i went with! between what i brought and everyone else made, we pulled together a pretty inexpensive (decor-wise) party!

although courtney wasn’t completely surprised (apparently we aren’t sneaky enough!), i think she was blessed by the friends and family that surrounded her to celebrate her victory!

we had a little dessert table as our main area for decor. my sister-in-law heather made all the cute signs.

we supplied some of the treats, but david also ordered some specialty desserts from one of courtney’s favorite bakers.

a simple touch like a coordinating ribbon pulls everything together

the flags on the desserts were made from toothpicks, scraps of paper, and hot glue – super easy and quick.

on the tables were candles, blue glass mason jars filled with baby’s breath, and courtney’s signature flags.

any time i see colorful straws i grab them, even if i don’t have a use for them yet. we use straws nearly everyday at home and i love using them at parties. mason jars are also great for having on hand – they are super durable and look great for all sorts of themes.

i loved the touch of this banner that everyone could sign – so fun!

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costume party

November 2, 2011

last week we threw a little costume party in celebration of lily’s 6th birthday.

she loves to dress up but hates being scared, so we didn’t go for a typical halloween party or decor. we decided on fun fall colors with punches of pink and turquoise.

easy, simple decorations and really fun food!

lily and i spent a ton of time on pinterest, looking at fun halloween food ideas. so basically, this was a pinterest party!

we found silas’ pirate costume (or clostume, as he calls it) at a garage sale a year or so ago.

i made the girls’ poodle skirts loosely following this tutorial, found on pinterest. seriously, pinterest is the crafty girl’s google.

oh baby jack! my mom and sister whipped up this amazing turtle costume for the babe in just a few hours. crazy cute.

the spread.

the grey gauzy stuff under the food was from the dollar store, as were the cauldron bowls holding snacks. not pictured were mummy hot dogs.

dipped and sprinkled oreos. we opted out for the stick, and only did a half dip. super easy. just warm some store bought frosting in the micro for a few seconds and dip the cookie, then dip into a bowl of sprinkles.

again with the dipping and sprinkling.

i just got coffee stirrers, cut them in half, and hot glued a strip of paper to the top, the poked them into marshmallows dipped in melted chocolate chips. we were out of sprinkles at this point!

borrowed the cake idea from here. more coffee stirrers and a tiny sewn paper garland attached.

witches hat cookies. yum.

the fall mantle, plus a little party bling. glittered pumpkins from last year.

entry way set up, with a pack of fake mustaches for any un-costumed guests. didn’t even open the pack – everyone came in costume!

a last minute front door wreath – my mom brought me a black feather boa and i had a grapevine wreath. i just tucked a few feathers under some branches and it stayed put!

a simple centerpiece – more dollar store gauze and random candles and sticks from around the house.

more paper banners. i love sewing paper banners! so very easy, anyone could do it!

also from pinterest - here.

our one and only activity, besides eating a ton of sugar and bad-for-you foods – bobbing for apples!

the kids went nuts over it! they were very persistent because, as it turns out, bobbing for apples is really hard! the kids were fully dunking their heads in!

a collection of most of our guests – love all the costumes!

a quick how-to on the cake:

2 boxed cakes in 4 round pans = 4 layers. icing between layers and around edges.

heat store bought frosting in microwave until its runny, then slowly pour over the top. i would’ve stopped sooner, but i ran out of orange frosting and didn’t fully frost the top layer, so my chocolate needed to cover it.

i’ve covered a whole cake like this before and its as pretty as ganache.