Tea For Two (Grandma Time!)

My mom has been saying all summer she would love to do a Grandmother and Granddaughter tea with my daughter, Ruby.  So yesterday she came down for a visit and I set them up a little party on the porch. It was so SWEET! Ruby could hardly sleep the night before, knowing Grandma was coming for a visit! It was so cute. She was up early, bathed, dressed, and sitting on the porch waiting for her an hour before her arrival. Love how these pics captured their special time together!

Ruby searched the house till she found a pair of pink gloves and a hat for my mom to wear. 

Grandma happily obliged and a fancy tea for 2 lovely people began!

 Even though the roses are faux, Grandma played along when Ruby suggested they "smell the roses".

Love this pic. My mother looks so happy and peaceful here (...while Ruby tries to sneak a pastry!)

One happy little girl!

Ruby asked me to make up a special set of pink poms and pink roses for the occasion.

Mom brought a big pink box filled with yummy treats from her favorite local bakery. YUM! I couldn't resist grabbing a couple of these scrumptious treats before they went out and made myself a cup of tea to go with it! I watched through the window at their lively conversation - just dying to know what they were talking about - but stayed inside to let the two have special time together.

I did, however, manage to get a couple cute pics though the window...

...that is, until I got CAUGHT!!! LOL!

Such a great visit with my mom and the best day ever for my daughter!

Hoping you and your family are savoring the rest of these wonderful summer days!

xoxo,

Jen

The Classic Tea Party

It was my great pleasure to do this Vintage-inspired tea party 2 weeks ago. The client wanted a classic tea party to celebrate the birthdays of both of her daughters (just a few weeks apart). I must say, it was one of my favorite parties to design! The room used for the party was gorgeous! A huge, European style finished basement. I knew I had to do something special to work all that pink into the design -without losing all the warmth and wood already in the room. Adding some warm tones - beiges and gold - to the pink gave it a vintage look that worked with the room and at the same time stayed with the theme. I was really happy with the way it turned out. A friend of mine, Susan Harrell, took photos of the set up for me. Thanks, Susan, for doing such a great job!

The 1st table set up was for crafting. Hats were placed at each table setting instead of a plate. Boas were draped on each chair. The flowers and butterflies to decorate the hats were scattered in front of them on the table. Boas were also used to make fabulously fluffy tea hats. Fun! An additional craft was done next. Hand painted, wooden tea cups and pots (in shades of pink) were passed around, along with lots of gems for decorating them.

 Later, the set up changed to tea service...including real china cups, saucers, and plates I've been collecting just for such an occasion.  The girls sipped pink fruit tea with cake.

The fun is in the details! Tulle pom poms, pearls, personalized bunting, flower cup cakes, custom water bottles, pink striped paper straws and feathers all made for a pretty mix.

 Tea cup towers, vintage inspired "blooming" cupcake display, lace tablecloths, and hand made napkin holders were a lot of fun to make! (See doily napkin holder tutorial in one of the posts below).

And now...a few pics I took the day of the party. Forgive the quality of the photos!

Clockwise: Hat, decorations, water bottles and tea cup/pot craft. I made the bunting & banner from both new and vintage fabrics and trimmed them all with vintage lace. (Pom poms, bunting, and hat were shot by Susan). Pretty sure you can tell the ones taken by me! :-)

Nail painting station. Added a dozen roses and brought a lamp from home to complete the look.

Don't like the look of those plastic table cloths? BUT, you still need to protect a nice table from polish or crafts? Just add lace underneath and tie up a few sections with pretty ribbon or lace!

Had to end the post with a nice shot Susan took. Hope you enjoyed seeing this party!

Credits:  

Party styling & design: PLAN ME A PARTY!

Photography: Susan Harrell

Paper Straws: The Sugar Diva

The Fairy Princess Party

April 11, 2011. It was a study in pink.  Pink tulle, pink roses, and pink satin, combined with fairy wings, glitter, and pom poms. There were pink butterfly cookies, pink marshmallows, and pink popcorn. Strawberry cupcakes with pink icing and a pink toad stool cake. Even the veggie dip was pink! The girls filtered in one by one taking in the magical scene, totally in awe their surroundings.

1st order of business was to fairify them. (Yes, that is a word... in MY world, anyway!) Each girl received a pink tutu, wings, and fairy halo. It was so cute to see the transformation from street clothes to fairy. You could tell they all felt special. And they were.

Sweet birthday girl, Ruby, in her fairy costume

Next up, was the making of fairy wands. This was a big hit. My daughter still plays with hers, a year later!

A make-up artist was on hand for face painting. Each girl chose the same thing- a pink butterfly. Sweet.

After the face painting, they headed to the table for a royal fairy princess tea. The lil princess drank pink tea or pink lemonade served in real porcelain tea cups. They nibbled on flower & butterfly shaped fruit kabobs and two kinds of tea sandwiches, along with yummy pink confections from the sweet table.

Pretti Mini home made marshmallows

Pretti mini fairy cupcakes

Sweet party guest!

And another!

Make a wish! 

Flowers add such an elegance

Fairy Princess place cards by Chickabug.

After lunch and sweets were served,  there was a winged horse pinata', song and dance, and games to play. And magic. Lots of it. Pretty, pink, sparkly magic. A beautiful day for a beautiful Fairy Princess.

Credits:

Party Design/Styling - Pretti Mini Parties

Photography - Sarah Zimmerman www.sarahzimmermanphotography.com

Printable paper goods - Chickabug www.etsy.com/chickabug

Brie's Fancy Tea

The invites were sent. Then just days before the party, the mom of the birthday girl's water heater burst leaving water damage behind. It couldn't all be repaired in time for the party. What's the mom to do? Cancel? Postpone? "Have it here! Have it here!" I said.  She agreed and I quickly went to work.

A little welcome sign to greet our guests!

Pretti Mini water bottle labels

I made a keepsake Pretti Mini banner for the birthday girl to hang in her room after the party.

We served tea sandwiches shaped like butterflies and flowers, along with fruit, veggies, and sweets. And tea, of course!

Before lunch, the girls got light make-up and had their hair done. Then it was time for a fashion show!

Birthday girl, Brianna, leads the show!

It was a gorgeous, sunny day, so we headed outside later for fun and games.

Skittle relay

I loved their faces and watching them cheer each other on!

Happy smiling girls! The best part of what I do!