Back to School Party Fun

Back to School is such an exciting time of year.  Lots of anticipation for the school year ahead, butterflies in the tummy, and reuniting with little friends you haven't seen in what seems like an eternity. I miss those days, so it was a thrill to get to style a Back-to-School Party for the cover of Madison Living magazine's September issue.

For all you sentimental mommies, I think it helps to look at these photos with "This Time of Year" by Better Than Ezra playing in the background...it's my fall jam!

All of these wonderful photos were taken by the amazing, Sarah Brewer of Click Photo Designs.  I love working with her on special events. She's fabulous at capturing all of the special little moments, so I highly recommend her for your children's birthday parties and especially family photos.  If you book a session with her in 2012, you'll get exclusive access to Christmas Cards designed by Belly Feathers.  A special perk just for Click Photo Designs customers.

I love how this pencil vase turned out.  It's just a mason jar surrounded by pencils held on with an elastic band, which is nicely hidden by the green polka dot ribbon. Super easy and super cute! This mini chalkboard was quite a find in Target's Dollar Spot section for only $2.50. I think I'll have a lot of fun with this around our house, too.

One of the best parts of school is snack time.  We had little cartons of pretend apple juice and butter cookies with the little holes in the center strung together with red and white baker's twine.
  

The super adorable outfits the kids are wearing were all provided by Bonnie Blue Boutique.  Isn't the headband above just gorgeous?!  This whole outfit is by Persnickety, and Bonnie Blue Boutique just happens to be the largest retailer of this clothing line in Alabama.  I can see why!  Owner Jennifer is fabulous at helping you pick out a great outfit, and I particularly love Persnickety because all of the pieces are mix and match, so you can create a really versatile wardrobe out of just a few pieces.

All of the decor for the party was simple and sweet.  I based everything off a cute apple rubber stamp and fresh green and red apples. I had my heart set on a chalkboard for the kids to play with, and when we couldn't find one, I made this one out of a thrift store mirror and chalkboard spray paint - a much easier project than I thought.  I love using my cupcake stand in non-traditional ways, and the fresh apples couldn't have been cuter displayed on it.

Hope everyone has a great school year full of bright ideas, special memories, and of course, fun PARTIES!

To see more Back-to-School Party photos, check out the September issue of Madison Living magazine.

Paper Doll Tea Party :: Sweet Simplicity

Ever since I saw Lily & Thistle's Mini Me Paper Dolls, I have been *dreaming* about throwing a Paper Dolls Tea Party.  I absolutely love that you can personalize the dolls to look like your daughter and her friends. Plus, there's just something charming and timeless about paper dolls that goes perfectly with a tea party. Well, this grown-up little girl got her wish thanks to some help from my good friend Sarah Brewer at Click Photo Designs, Bonnie Blue Boutique, Madison Living magazine, and of course,  the very talented Hannah Stevenson at Mini Me Paper Dolls.

I had so much fun cutting out these paper dolls! I went with Mini Me's printable option, which super affordable and allows you to print off as many copies as you want.  For example, you could have a paper doll designed to look like your daughter for $14.50 and give a copy to all of the guests at her party for one flat price. If you're having a small party, it's super special to have a doll designed to look like each of your guests (discounted party packages are available), and you can print off copies of all of these friends for your daughter to play with long after the party. As guests arrive, I highly recommend having scissors, so they can start cutting out outfits for their paper dolls. Have fun bling like rhinestones, glitter, mini flowers, ribbon, and other accessories for them to add extra flair, too.

Tulle is one of my go-to crafting supplies because its so easy to work with and makes a big impact.  It was perfect for adding a little flair to this tea tray I found at Home Goods. (By the way, I'm so excited to finally be getting a Home Good in my town...YAY!)  I found some adorable punch cups at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store, which were perfect of a little girl's tea party. Thanks to my Facebook fan, Shannon Belew, for tipping me off to all the great finds there.

Even though it's a tea party, I think pink lemonade is a little more fun and girly, so I served that up decanted in these inexpensive bottles from IKEA. I kept the menu super simple: pink lemonade, teddy grahams, iced sugar cookies, and gumballs.

Aren't these tea cookies cute?!  I just stacked up mini frosted cookies from the Target bakery and poked a ribbon-topped sandwich pick through the center. I love to bake, but as full-time working girl, its nice just to take something store bought and make it fab.

One of the biggest hits at the tea party were these Teddy Grahams.  Who would have thought?!  I'll definitely be adding these to more of my kids party menus. If you haven't seen my trick for making candy jars look fuller with less contents, you have to check it out.  I definitely used that in all my jars at this party, including the gumball jar below.

Paper dolls aren't just for play. They make wonderful decorations in this shadow box and peeking out of the flower arrangement.

Love the coincidence of how close their outfits a match in this shot.  You can get a better look at some of the glitter sparkle I added to the paper doll's cotton candy, too...I had so fun blinging up my paper dolls.

Sarah Brewer did such a fantastic job of capturing the personality of all the little girls at the party.  Love this precious smile! Bubbles are my favorite party favor for little ones, too.  You'll get lots of smiles with these at a party for sure.

All of the adorable outfits at the party were provided by Bonnie Blue Boutique in Meridianville, AL.  The two outfits above from Persnickety Clothing are my favs...so frilly.

All of the little girls wanted to take the lid off of the tea pot to see what was inside.  If you don't serve tea out of your tea pot, I highly recommend hiding some little surprises for the curious ones at your event.

As I mentioned, mini bubbles are one of my favorite party favors for children's parties, and I love to "serve" them up on cake pedestals. It's a great way to give them a more prominence on your table and add height to your display.

This is my other favorite Persnickety Clothing outfit picked by Bonnie Blue Boutique....so precious!

I think details make a party.  Even my little tea bags got a custom heart-shaped tea party tag. I also love the pop of color the blue gumballs provide in all the shots. Party City has a great selection of large and small gumballs by color, so it was easy to find the perfect shade of blue to match the paper doll tea party's decor.

If you'd like to see even more inspiration photos from this Paper Dolls Tea Party, check out the online version of Madison Living magazine on Facebook. I'm so thrilled that the party made the cover!

Sources & Credits
Photography: Click Photo Designs by Sarah Brewer
Wardrobe: Bonnie Blue Boutique featuring Persnickety Clothing
Printable Paper Dolls: Mini Me Paper Dolls
Publication: Madison Living Magazine
Cookies: Target
Candy: Party City
Serving Pieces: Salvation Army Thrift Store, IKEA, Home Goods
Styling and Design: Belly Feathers

Circus Party Supplies - New!

If you saw my post yesterday about Joshua's 2nd Birthday Circus Party, then you know I have a new line of Circus Party Supplies for sale from Belly Feathers.  Here are some additional photos of the products with pricing.  I can also design additional coordinating items for your party, so just ask!

Don't forget about my handy Circus Party Planning Guide full of ideas for decorations, party outfits, refreshments, favors, and more.  It's only $25.

Circus Invitations - $20 for a Printable PDF

Circus Party Stickers (2.5") - $5 for sheet of 12

Photo Posters (10x16") - $30 for printable PDF of both designs

Pennant Party Banner - $5 per letter

I'd love to help with your next Circus or Carnival Party!  Please feel free to email me at Betsy@BellyFeathers.com.

 

More Circus Party Ideas
Circus Party Theme: Joshua's Two Ring Circus Birthday Party
Big-Top Circus Birthday Party for Marley & Kelsey
Handmade Circus Birthday Party: Let Your Birthday Boy Be the Ringleader
Caden's 2nd Birthday Party Carnival

Circus Party Theme: Joshua's Two Ring Circus Birthday Party

I love circus themed parties!  So, I was thrilled to help with Joshua's Circus Birthday Party, especially after designing party supplies for his Sailboat 1st Birthday Party.  This year, his mommy Katie wanted me to create some custom circus birthday invitations and party supplies just for him.

Circus Themed Invitations

Since Joshua was turning two, I used "Two Ring Circus" as the inspiration for his Circus Invitations.  I love how they turned out with the big-top tent in the center.  Of course, I had to put a big number 2 above the door.

The bottom of the invitation is anchored by train cars full of circus animals including a lion, giraffe, elephant, and a juggling monkey.  I put a number 2 on the second train car, too.

Circus Party Games and Location

Katie was looking to do something a little simpler for Joshua's 2nd birthday party, so she decided to host the party at Cats Gymnastics in Boca Raton, FL.  The facility rental included activities, party plates/cups/napkins, and clean-up, which makes for a happy mommy!

Upon request, Cats Gymnastics transformed some of their normal birthday routines into circus themed activities by giving them new names:

• Tight Rope Walking (Balance Beam)
• Trapeze (Rings)
• Lion Taming (Somersaults)
• Clowning Around (Slide)

Birthday ringmaster Joshua even made a special flying entrance to the party (see below).  Cats Gymnastics reserves that for guests of honor only, which I think it is a special touch (and great way to book more parties).

Circus Birthday Cake

Joshua's birthday cake (pictured above) came from Publix and featured the little circus train topper below, which tied in perfectly with his invitations. The cars even have animals inside! The train candle holder was included with the price of the cake, but you can also order the same topper separately from Sweet Estelle's Baking Supply on Etsy.

Photo by Sweet Estelle's Baking Supply on Etsy

Circus Party Supplies and Decorations

My favorite circus decorations at the party were these Circus Photo Posters.  They were inspired by old circus posters that would be placed around cities get everyone excited about the circus coming to town. I love how the design turned out, and the two photos of Joshua were so much fun to work with!    These could easily be turned into photo thank you cards after the party or even party invitations.

Here are close-ups of both circus poster designs.

Don't these just look festive?!

Katie also ordered Mylar balloons shaped like a big-top circus tent and lion to decorated the party room.  I created the Pennant Party Banner to hang over the refreshments.

The one downside of having Cats Gymnastics provide the party plates and other supplies was that they were generic and didn't tie in with the theme.  I helped Katie solve this problem by designing 2.5" Circus Party Stickers in a few different styles.  She stuck them on everything from party hats to serving bowls to personalize Joshua's circus birthday party.

I think using the plastic buckets for serving dishes is such a cute idea!

Circus Party Favors

Katie used these popcorn bags from Dollar Tree for the Circus Favors at Joshua's party. So fun!

They were filled with a variety of circus goodies, most of which were also found at Dollar Tree.

My favorite items in the treat bags were these pieces of polka-dot sidewalk chalk, which Katie wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon. I think these would make wonderful party favors all by themselves, especially for summer parties.  Of course, Katie lives in sunny south Florida, so these are perfect year round!

Katie, thank you so much for letting me share these photos from Joshua's 2nd birthday party!  It was such a treat to work with you again!


Looking for more Circus Party Ideas? Check these posts out.
Big-Top Circus Birthday Party for Marley & Kelsey
Handmade Circus Birthday Party: Let Your Birthday Boy Be the Ringleader
Caden's 2nd Birthday Party Carnival


Featured Handmade Items by Belly Feathers
Circus Invitations
Pennant Party Banner
Photo Circus Posters
Party Stickers
See pricing and more photos.