{REAL PARTIES}: Minnie Mouse Birthday

More birthday inspiration today! I stumbled across this child's 2nd birthday party from Heavenly Blooms and I just can't get over this adorable theme!

The sign-in table included fun accessories, and the Minnie heads were created from styrofoam balls spray-painted black.

I love the idea of using zebra print as part of the theme!

How cute are these Minnie ears? They were easily created from simple black headbands, glued-on foam circles, and ribbon bows. They were a big hit among guests.

The hostess is a florist, so naturally the centerpieces were beautiful. They included pink roses and white gerbera daisies.

I LOVE the black and zebra print pom poms over the dessert table, and pink polka dot tablecloth!

Hand-made Minnie birthday banner.
Be sure to go here for lots more cute details!

And for a truly fabulous party also featured on this blog, be sure to check out Miss Kate's Baby Shower!

I'm also crazy about these Minnie Mouse cake pops from bakerella!

Just goes to show how a child's birthday can be fabulous!

Avatar Party

With all the hype behind James Cameron's new film Avatar, I couldn't help being reminded of my days as an early event planner with themes designed around popular films. No doubt this year will see many parties for kids (or kids at heart) based on this film. An Avatar party would certainly be an interesting undertaking, but never fear! I've come up with some great ideas for how to throw a fabulous party inspired by this breathtaking film workable for any budget or any guest list!

A dazzling Avatar screening for grown-ups:
If you're truly looking to recreate the world of Pandora, a great place to start is with a jungle theme!
- Draped, green fabric, particularly in a palm or floral pattern
- Artificial ferns, palm trees, or vines
- I love this Safari-themed party which uses a patterned shadow light to create the effect of the forest canopy

But it would never be the world of Pandora without magical lighting effects! You could accomplish this a few ways:
- A home planetarium or star theater (such as this economical one found here) would
illuminate the ceiling with stars and constellations.
- LED lights or luminous fiber optic centerpieces add the all-important blue glow to transport you to the world of Pandora.

Sources: LED tree, fiber optic lamp, fiber optic tablecloth, LED rope light.

I also really love the idea of using peacock feathers to add sophistication to centerpieces or decor (and which mimic creatures that appear in the film).

Check out this fabulous blue peacock cake!

An Avatar Birthday Party:
You don't have to spend a fortune to create a fun party that kids and adults alike can enjoy!
- Of course artificial, tropical plants are great, but another easy way to create the jungle theme would be to use green feather boas. You could hang them like vines or suspended from the ceiling.
- Simple, blue icicle lights can make a big statement, particularly under low light.
- Face painting is a fun way for guests to become immersed in the theme and become their own Avatar! You could use this cat design or simply solid blue paint and glow in the dark sticker dots. How cool would that be?

Blue cat face paint

- Avatar-specific party supplies and favors are becoming available and can be found here.
Possible game or activity ideas:
- Avatar Pin the Tail on the Donkey - boys would love shooting a toy bow and arrow at a poster or picture of a fighter plane from the film or doing battle with a helicopter pinata!
- Tame the Toruk - For a little extra, this pterodactyl "Toruk" kite would be a blast for young guests to take turns "taming" (flying), or they could make and fly their own from origami paper! Tutorials can be found online.
- Young girls would LOVE creating their own necklaces from feathers, beads, or other natural elements.- Food served could include tropical fruit appetizers or kabobs, or a dessert buffet in all blue! Blue M&M's are an easy crowd-pleaser to include!

This theme inspires me so much I might have to design parties after all my favorite films!

{REAL PARTIES}: Pretty in Pink Shower

This radical 80's-inspired shower featured on Hostess with the Mostess is a perfect blend of traditional and fun! The mommy-to-be loves the movie Pretty in Pink and this baby shower incorporated that theme.

I love how much color the balloons add!

The table runner was made from photocopied images of the Pretty in Pink cover. And check out those vinyl records as plate chargers!

Centerpieces were created from film reels with pink carnation and rose arrangements and pink pacifiers.

The full tablescape.

Guests got box lunches tied with cassette tapes and ribbon.

You know my love of paper poms and decor!

LOVE all the pink sweets and custom labels to match!

See more details here!

More Peach...and Pink!

As promised, today's inspiration is more of my favorite color palette! You could call the late summer wedding inspiration coral, so today we have peach and pink! This first inspiration board is definitely for a baby girl shower, but a little off the beaten path. I like to call it a Peaches and Cream shower.

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Great details:

These super easy to make poms courtesy of the original party diva, Martha Stewart.

And how about this Peach Cake from Betty Crocker?

Details: peach and pink ranunculus, peaches and cream sign, peach cake, baby in pretty wrap, paper poms, hand-crafted invitation, peach jam, peach maternity top, rose teacup votive.

Other things you could include:
- a dessert table dedicated to peaches and cream! peach cobbler and ice cream, peach buds candy or peach rings, cream puffs, peach lemonade, etc.
- lace details on invitations, favors, or decor
- matching party decor from Plates and Napkins
- baskets of flowers in peach and cream. If you like the idea of paper poms, you continue that theme inexpensively with paper flowers! An easy tutorial for pretty peonies can be found here - love her blog name!

If you just love the idea of a traditional pink baby shower, why not run with it? That's exactly the idea behind this girly pink party.

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Details here: Pink balloons and flower arrangements, sweet pink buffet, pink floral pennant bunting (very easy to make! maybe I'll include a post about creating these fabulous decorations), pink invitation - complete with baby's first picture!, pink lemonade in mason jar glasses, assorted gifts, pink Gerbera daisies, pink polka dot plates, strawberry freeze dessert (I have a great recipe! - contact me for more info), baby bottle candle favors, girly cupcakes, and pink diaper cake.

Because so much inspiration was drawn from this Pretty in Pink Shower featured on the fabulous Hostess with the Mostess, I will share details soon!

Glowing Southern Wedding

I'm so excited about today's inspiration board! It's yet another "Hindsight Board", but I'm personally biased about it as it's one I created for my own wedding! I'm just IN LOVE with the warmth of the coral and gold together (which was a perfect choice for my late summer wedding!) but could also be interpreted for a spring affair with more muted tones such as peach and champagne. You can't NOT enjoy the eye candy :)

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Talk about a perfect favor idea! Peach jam! I especially love the lace embellishment.

And this beautiful idea for hanging paper lanterns is great for both a wedding or any outdoor event, and SO easy to create thanks to Martha Stewart.

Other details: votive wedding lanterns found here, white Adirondack chairs on a coastal porch, peach lemonade in crystal glasses, bridesmaids in gold dresses, peach and coral rose bouquet and hurricane vase centerpiece, coral embellished invitation with gold satin brooch, hanging paper lanterns, peach jam favors, Southern plantation - I always knew I wanted this as my wedding venue, Grand Exit and gold sparklers, ivory wedding cake and coral roses, hand-painted bridal sign (which can be found on this etsy site!)

To give you an idea of how I implemented this vision into my own wedding, I'll share some
snapshots below!

My flowers! A Blue Lady florist captured my vision exactly and I was amazed by how vivid and beautifully the bouquets turned out! Peach and coral roses accented with pink and white spray roses and pink hypericum berries.

The cake was buttercream with ivory scroll-work and fresh rose and hypericum berry bunches. Underneath was gold satin fabric and scattered rose petals. We used the cake as a focal point in the foyer when you entered our reception. It was also delicious thanks to Diane at Simply Tasteful Cakes! Check out her work here.

Venue is everything and, thankfully, we didn't have to improve much about our reception venue. On the tables were more gold satin fabric, votive hurricane candles (I didn't want too much height to allow easy conversation among guests), scattered rose petals - an easy and inexpensive way to spread color without lots of floral arrangements, and our favors: custom water bottles! Being a late summer wedding, we feared the heat would be felt through the open doors at our reception and thought the water bottles were a fun way to combat that.

I chose this lantern for my wedding because I particularly liked the white scroll-work on the glass. We had these as centerpieces on tables out on the porch as well as lining the stairs and creating a path to our reception. The glowing lanterns as the summer sun went down was stunning!

Expect more inspirations in this color palette soon!

Lovely Lavender

Spring is in full swing and we've got plenty of inspiration for the season!!

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In a strange way I enjoy making what I call "Hindsight Inspiration Boards" for past events when I have the time to find images of great details and put them together in a visual way. This seasonal wedding board is inspired both by my sister's Spring wedding a few years ago which had a French lavender theme as well as a stunning lavender party featured on Hostess with the Mostess. I love that white inadvertently became an accent color here.

Adorable lavender cupcakes

Lavender tea light favors found here

Other details: White rose, hydrangea, and purple bouquet, bridesmaids in sage, lavender bunch, paper lanterns on a sunlit porch, wedding cake with flowers and purple ribbon, lavender place setting, white vellum invitations, lavender flower wreath, bride in a white doorway, lavender bunch on white wicker bench.

I just love this color palette so much that I can't not share images from the Lovely Lavender theme party featured on Hostess with the Mostess, so enjoy!

Chocolate cake balls covered in lilac nonpareils....don't you love the choice of green liners to give the full lavender effect?

Check out this buffet!

Favors included lavender sachets, soaps, and spa items...

...Be sure to check out the links above to see more details of this fête fantastique!

Baby Bird Shower

While we're on the subject of baby showers, I recently designed this inspiration board for a baby bird shower that I just LOVE! I designed the theme around the vintage baby bird plates, and I wanted to use that motif throughout the décor with natural elements like twig nests, tree branches, and this adorable, hand-crafted wreath. Imagine this for a springtime shower!

A few of the adorable details up close

Details: vintage baby bird plates, birdhouses, wreath, baby bird cupcakes, baby bird art, paper banner, baby bird invitations, paper lantern, chair sashes in alternating colors, baby bird cookies, blue poms and table decor, nest cupcakes and birdhouse cupcake stand topper, blue candy buffet, felt birds, candy almonds in mini nest place setting, bare branch tree and wishes for the mom-to-be.

Rubber Duck Baby Shower

I used this theme for a baby shower I threw for my sister awhile back, but looking back on this theme I couldn't help but create a new inspiration board for a sunny, springtime shower. I like that it's a creative take on the blue shower for a baby boy, but it could also be used for a baby shower where the gender is unknown. Plus, how cute is the rubber ducky motif?


Top row: Lemonade in a finial glass beverage jar (LOVE these for any outdoor or warm-weather event!), adorable rubber ducky cake with whipped icing as bubble suds, yellow candies in glass jar - you could create an entire candy buffet in these accent colors!, pale yellow and white onesies and baby clothes on clothesline
Middle Row: Yellow daisies in Chinese take-out box, blue candy favors, rubber duckies in a tub - I used this idea for the punch bowl, blue polka-dot plates, rubber ducky invitations and stationary.
Bottom row: Tented, outdoor shower with hanging white paper lanterns (to mimic floating bubbles - or you could use clear balloons), white tables and chairs with yellow table runners, rubber ducky invitation, cupcake with rubber ducky candle toppers - these could make great favors, and rubber ducky/bathtime themed diaper cake.

Welcome to Peach Pizazz!

Welcome to Peach Pizazz! I created this blog to share some of my party inspirations and practical ideas for entertaining on a budget. I hope you find some creative ideas to add pizazz to your events!