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

Handmade Tea Party Favors

Here's a close up of the Tea Party Favor that I made for the Lovely Ladies' Tea Party.

I added a heart-shaped tag to the end of an Earl Grey tea bag and placed it inside a cute scalloped-edge envelope.  Then I added a cute teapot medallion that said "Until our next Tea Time".

Thanks to The Graphics Fairy for finding and sharing the little teapot image shown on the favors!  This post is being linked up with all of the fun projects at these blogs.

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

Sneak Peek: High Tea Party Ideas

This weekend, I'll be sharing pictures from a lovely Ladies' Tea Party. For now, here's a sneak peek of some of the English tea party supplies that Belly Feathers created for the event.

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