Alice in Wonderland Party Ideas

Like most girls, Alice in Wonderland has always been a story that captured my imagination. That's why I was so excited to design some Alice in Wonderland Party Favors for my customer, Traci.  They couldn't have turned out any sweeter!

I fell in love with these little heart tins because of their raised lace-like design and have been holding on to them for just the right occasion. And, they were so perfect for the Alice in Wonderland Baby Shower that Traci was planning.  Being the just the right size for little treats, they look absolutely precious with "Eat Me" embellishments.

Traci wanted one of the favors to be a keepsake for the soon-to-arrive baby, Teghan Olivia.  The baby's nursery is decorated in pink butterflies, so Traci wanted the baby's favor to be specially adorned with butterflies.  Such a fabulous idea!

On the same day I shipped these favors, one of my fans on Facebook, Anna of Evie George Cakes, asked if I could share any ideas for an Alice in Wonderland Party she's planning - how serendipitous!  It was my pleasure to share all of the Alice in Wonderland Party Ideas I've handpicked from around the web over the last few years, which you might enjoy seeing, as well.  (Hint: Become a fan on Facebook for exclusive ideas and party help!)

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Alice in Wonderland Tin Heart Party Favors

Child and Baby Photo Ideas: Reuse Party Banners

These photos by Carla McLemore Photography are so beautiful!  When I saw the newborn photos she took of my baby cousin Eleanor, I was so honored to see the Party Banner I designed for her mommy's pink and green baby shower in the pictures!

It shows how versatile Party Banners for babies and children can be.  I know clients order these to have at baby showers and hang in the baby's nursery afterwards, but this is the first time I've seen one used as baby photography props.  What a fantastic idea! You could also have a Party Banner that spells your child's age to use in their annual portraits and reuse at their birthday party that year. 

Ideas for using and reusing Party Banners:

• Baby Showers
• Nursery Decor
• Newborn Photos
• Annual Kids' Portraits
• Birthday Parties
• Gifts for Friends 

I'm all about getting the most bang for your buck!  Have you reused your Party Banners in any creative ways?


Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Scalloped Circle Party Banner

Pink and Green Baby Shower for Lauren

I attended a beautiful Pink and Green Baby Shower for my sweet cousin Lauren on Sunday.  The hostesses below did such a fabulous job planning the event with just the right amount of detail to create a very special personalized baby shower.  I was so thrilled when they asked Belly Feathers to design a party banner and sign for the baby shower decorations.

This Diaper Wreath couldn't have been cuter!  I'm a big fan of establishing the party theme and colors as soon as guests arrive, and this did exactly that.  This baby shower wreath is such a fresh alternative to diaper shower cakes, too.

The refreshment table at the baby shower was so pretty!  I love the satin topper with the risers for height. 

Aren't these pink and green Cake Pops are adorable?!  Inspired by Bakerella, they spell out the baby's name, Eleanor, and are simply too cute for words.

The Baby Shower Centerpiece with Eleanor's initial was gorgeous, as well.  The little butterfly mixed in flowers ties in the design of Eleanor's pink and green baby bedding, which inspired the baby shower theme.  Details! Details!

Here's a close-up of the Baby Shower Sign created by Belly Feathers.  I added a little dragonfly above the pram to coordinate with Eleanor's bedding, too.

The Baby Shower Banner spelling "Eleanor" turned out so cute with the little scalopped circles to mimic flowers on the baby bedding. Of course, I'm a little biased, since it's a Belly Feathers custom creation.  Banners spelling out the baby's name are a great decoration that mommy can reuse in the baby's nursery or at future birthday parties.

I couldn't resist showing you photos of Lauren openning her baby shower gifts from me.  These matching pink and green monogramed bloomers and burp cloth are absolutely precious!  They were created by Izzy B Designs, who I love recommending to my clients for party outfits.

This Eleanor picture was a super creative gift painted by one of the guests, which featured all sorts of items that start with the letter "E".

The baby shower gift that stole everyone's heart were these beautiful smocked dresses created by Lauren's grandmother for her and her older sister, Lacy, when they were itty bitty.  It was such a special way for my Aunt Trica to include her mom, who passed away when Lauren was little girl, in this special occasion.

Great idea alert! While Lauren opened her gifts, a few of the hostesses displayed the openned gifts in a bedroom for everyone to view after the baby shower.  I loved being able to get a close-up look at all of the adorable outfits for baby Eleanor.  This was definitely a great way to take advantage of having so many hostesses because there were still plenty hostess available to make a gift list for thank you notes, take care of trash, and snap photos, like this one of Lauren receiving custom stationery designed by Belly Feathers from big sister Lacy.

Many thanks to hostess and cousin extrodinare, Lacy, for letting me share the photos from this gorgeous baby shower and also for your sweet and generous encouragment of Belly Feathers!  Also, thank you to hostess, Sara, for letting me design custom baby shower decorations for Lauren's special party!

Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Scalloped Circle Party Banner
Baby Shower Party Sign
Personalized Stationery Set and Gift Enclosure Cards

Paperless Post: The Best Party Invitations Online

For the very first time, Paperless Post made me a fan of party email invitations. Their online invitations have the charm and elegance of some of the nicest printed invites and still let you experience the delight of opening an envelope to see what's inside.  Click this sample email invite to see exactly what I mean.

Honestly, I've always thought invitations online were tacky and impersonal. Services like Evite give you limited options to personalize the look of the invitations, and what options they do provide are clunky and hard to operate.

Paperless Post fixes these issues by delivering a virtual envelope to your guests' inboxes with their names displayed right on the envelope.  Upon clicking, the envelope opens to reveal a beautiful invitation online.  Paperless Post provides tons of email invitation templates and samples to choose from, which you can further personalize with your choice of fonts and text layouts.  The invitation design interface is very easy use, and you get the added convenience of online RSVP for your guests, which is great for guests and hostesses alike.

The cost of sending a single basic email invite is $0.20. Adding a photo or envelope liner, adds an extra $0.20 per online invitation. Therefore, you can send a beautiful invite by email for less that the cost of a US postal stamp.  It's like you purchased the stamp but got the invite free.  I'm all for that!

I'm a little too old fashioned to suggest email wedding invitations because I still think print is the way to go for a milestone occasion like this.  However, I think Paperless Post would be perfect for stylish "Save the Date" cards, especially for weddings on a tight budget. Paperless Post also has personalized stationery for thank you notes, as well as greeting cards for all occasions.

One thing I recommend is taking a screenshot of your invitation, so you can print it out for inclusion in scrapbooks or keepsake boxes.  It's nice to have a more permanent copy.  Here's a video I made that explains taking a screen shot of your Paperless Post Invitations. (This is my first video ever, and for some reason, it sounds like I have a lisp!)

Paperless Post has not contacted or sponsored me in any way.  I simply love the service and am thrilled to recommend it.  My last three party planning guide customers have all used Paperless Post and have loved everything about it.  With the purchase of their custom party planning guides, I was pleased to recommend a sample email invite and typeset all of their information. 

When you sign up for a new Paperless Post account, you'll receive 25 free stamps to send invitations and 10 free coins, which allow you to add photos on envelope liners.  Here's your invitation to join!

Lovely Ladies' High Tea Party Ideas

I love idea behind this lovely ladies' High Tea Party!  I was so thrilled to help two of the hostesses, Debbie and Lisha, and equally excited to see all of the pictures from the event.  Put on your party hat, and enjoy these wonderful inspiration photos!

Tea Party Theme and Tablescapes
Some of the ladies at Debbie and Lisha's church decided to host a tea party, and each hostess signed up to decorate her own table however she wanted.  This created an eclectic mix of themes, including hot pink Parisian, cool blue China, Easter pastel, and sweet Victorian to highlight a few. I can only image how fun it must have been to walk around and look at all the details on each tablescape.

 

Many of the ladies used tea sets that have been in their families for generations, which adds such a special touch. I know Debbie and Lisha had a great time shopping and collecting vintage pieces for the event at antique parlors, as well.

Having a rack of assorted gloves available for the ladies to wear if they choose is such a perfect detail.  So cute!

Tea Party Menu
I love the way the tea party food was handled for this event, too.  Each hostess brought one or two baked goods or tea party sandwiches to place in the church's kitchen before the event.  Then the hostesses brought their serving pieces into the kitchen to "shop" for any of the goodies they wanted to include on their table.  This is such a great way to have a variety of party food without having to prepare a million items yourself.  Each table had a slightly different assortment of goodies, too, so I'm sure that gave everyone extra incentive to mingle.

Tea Party Decorations
Many of the hostesses used serving pieces, tablecloths, and centerpieces that they already owned.  I think this could be such a great budget party theme for a bridal tea party or baby shower because the only splurges would be food and flowers.  Since each table has it's own theme, you don't have to worry about having the right pieces to coordinate a whole room, just enough for an individual table.

Belly Feathers designed tea party supplies especially for Debbie and Lisha's tables including flower place cards, a "Tea Time" party banner, and some really special tea party favors.

For the tea bag favors, I placed personalized tea bags with a heart tag into little envelopes that said "Until our next Tea Time".  I loved how they turned out!

Thank you so much for sharing, Debbie and Lisha!  I loved seeing all of the unique tea party tables and the fun idea for sharing refreshments.  This was truly an event with lots of attention to detail and has given me so many ideas and inspiration for future events.

Featured Handmade Items
by Belly Feathers
Tea Time Party Banner
Tea Party Favors with Personalized Tea Bags
Flower Place Cards

Fabulous Fruit Tea Recipe

This fabulous Fruit Tea is one of my most cherished recipes. It's perfect for your Easter celebrations, brunches, sunny days, and any special get togethers with your girlfriends.

Download the 3x5 Recipe Card

It's so cool and refreshing. If you've never had fruit tea, you definitely have to try it, but beware: it's very addictive.

Betsy's Fabulous Fruit Tea

    4         family-size tea bags (or 12 small tea bags)
    4         cups boiling water
    2         cups sugar
    2         cups pineapple juice
    12       oz can of orange juice concentrate, thawed
    12       oz can of lemonade concentrate, thawed
    5         quarts cool water
               lemon & orange slices, optional

Steep tea for 5 minutes.  Mix all ingredients.

Garnish glasses with orange or lemon slices, or place slices in pitcher or drink dispenser for decoration. Makes 2 gallons.
   
(Source Betsy Pruitt of Belly Feathers)

Download the 3x5 Recipe Card

 

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