Mason's Ocean Reef Party

Time flies.  It feels like yesterday that we brought him home and now he is five.  I can't believe it! I blinked and the years flew by.  My sweet boy who loves to run, play, laugh, joke, the beach, playing with trains, cars, puzzles and swimming.

We took him to Sea World this spring and he LOVED it.  He loved the dolphins, whales, sharks and all things ocean. Which, of course, got this party planner thinking... we talked about a few ideas and he loved the ocean reef party idea. He had a few requests... he wanted a dolphin coming out of the cake and of course all the ocean animals around and about and he wanted to "pin the tail on the shark." So party-planning mama got to work!

This was a FUN party to plan. I mean REALLY fun.

 

I found a fabulous fabric that reminded me of ocean bubbles with pops of bright blue, lime green and teal.

 

 

Of course, the cake with the requested dolphin was a total hit. Love & Sugar Kisses knocked this cake out of the park. Sweet Maria delivered exactly what the birthday boy requested and then some using Lauren McKinsey designs that delighted all the little and big guests alike.

 





 

 

 

 

Maria does amazing work! There are just no words for this piece of art. Not only did it look good, but the chocolate top layer with peanut butter buttercream, well... it was scrumptious! The chocolate covered oreos with matching fondant toppers, AMAZING!  Too amazing to eat for sure!  They are tiny little works of art. 

 

Of course, my friend Lauren McKinsey designed the cutest printables for the party and came to the party to take the photographs. Yeah, she's the best!

 

So cute!

 

I couldn't have a party without some bling, so The Purple Pug helped with some glitterific signage. Her work is nothing short of perfection! I hand-painted the teal anchor and it worked perfectly for the front door along with the glittered sign.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I borrowed this cute boat from my friend at Michelle Levinson Photography and decided it was perfect to display the beautiful cookies made by Bambella Cookie Boutique.

 

 

 

 

What is a party without balloons?  What is a party without calling my friends at Balloon Construction Company? My friend Blenda blew me away with the gorgeous ocean-themed balloons!

 

 

This friend is my favorite!

 

Pin the fin on the shark, yes please!  Old school party games never go out of style!  They had a blast playing this game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cute seating for all the little guests, check.

 

 

 

 

 

Getting the guests to stop playing to eat, not so easy! They had such fun together!

 

 

Each little guest got to visit the bait stop on their way home to pick up their personalized  Bait Bucket which I made out of paint cans from Michael's Craft Store and cute Lauren McKinsey personalized inserts and laminated nametags.

 

 

 

 

Each Bait Bucket was filled with goldfish (of course) and a fish pop from Vintage Confections. Lollipops with fish in them, AMAZING WORK!  They look like tiny fish bowls.

 

 

Of course, each guest picked out their own cookie to take home as well. Mason loved his party and had a great time with this friends celebrating.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I still can't believe he is five.

 

 

 

 

Thank you to all my friends and vendors for your superb work. I am so fortunate that I get to work with artists as a party planner. If you don't know some of these vendors, go visit them!  They are so talented!

 

 

Shopping/Vendor Details

 

Printable Designer/Photographer-Lauren McKinsey

Glittery sign/banner/tie dye banner- The Purple Pug

Cake and Oreo Cookies- Love & Sugar Kisses

Balloon Décor and Design- The Balloon Construction Company

Fishbowl Lollipops- Vintage Confections

Wooden Spoons- Sucre Shop

Decorated Cookies- Bambella Cookie Boutique

Painted buoys- Lake Shore Home

Birthday boy’s outfit- Ruby and Viola

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summertime Picnic-Fourth of July Fun!

Last year, Lauren McKinsey and I coordinated a Springtime Picnic together and had a grand time planning all the details together. I LOVE summertime and had a few ideas swirling for a summertime party and roped LM into doing a joint party with me again.

She KNOCKED the printable collection out of the park!  Here's the invitation that would work for either a fourth of July or any type of Great Gathering from now until September.

The printable collection includes bright colors, watermelons, pops of gingham and ANTS!  My favorite part!

Oh, how I love these cute ants I found at Terry's Village. A whole cute little collection of ants... this is one of my favorites...

I loved putting together the kids table.  I found some cute ant fabric at Joann Fabric and Craft Store and already had the bright green gingham fabric. I used the fabric as table runners crisscrossing them and tied the ends with a ribbon. I had asked our friend Stacy She's {kinda} Crafty to put together some craftiness for our party and boy did she!  I adore this bright colorful topiary she sent. It was PERFECT for the kids table. They could still see across the table, but it added some color and matched it all perfectly! My favorite part, the funky, fun stars coming out of it! LOVE!

I love putting together a kids table for parties that include little one's...everything just their size. They adore having their own space and if you watch them closely they always eat dessert first! (Adults should take notes from kids sometimes, don't you think???)

I also asked Crafts by Rosa if she could do a few picnic baskets. They are too cute! Made all out of paper with a little tag. She does amazing work with paper, check her out!

One of my favorite details is the colorful cake decoration made by Carmen at The Flair Exchange. Simple, but perfect for decorating a cake. She also sent some matching confetti that I used around the cake plate for pops of color.

This party included cute party food that could be easily carried and eaten in a few quick bites, like mini hotdogs, sliders, cake pops, mini bags of chips and small containers of corn salad.

One cute food tip, you can cut your grilled dogs in half and use the bake and heat rolls sliced partway through for a mini hotdog bun and these rolls can double as your slider rolls as well!

I love tiny party food you can carry and eat while you chase after your kids or dangle your feet in the pool, don't you?

Of course you can’t have a summer picnic without lots of sweets like rustic blueberry pie, mile high cupcakes, homemade bright red velvet cake, perfect matching cookies from The Talented Cookie  and the cutest watermelon cake pops ever by Cuter than Cake!

The perfect cupcake toppers were made by Edible Details. Perfect match to the printables, don't you think? Love that star!

The party decorations and tables combined textures and colors that included a rustic, vintage picnic basket, kitchen towels, a bright red storage crate and beautiful furniture from around the house.

The kids had a blast. They were on a sugar high for hours!

My sweet boy!

So I hope you get the chance to throw your own Summertime or Fourth of July (who says your July 4th party has to be ON Wednesday, July 4th anyway?) party this year and if you do... watch the kids, eat dessert first and don't forget to wear cute shoes!

The fantastic vendors included:

Fondant Cupcake Toppers - Edible Details

Decorated Cookies- The Talented Cookie

Ribbon Topiary- She’s Kinda Crafty

Tissue Designs- The Flair Exchange

Paper Picnic Basket Favors- Crafts by Rosa

Cake Pops- Cuter than Cake