Pony Party At The Farm! (Featured Story)

This past weekend I got to be a party GUEST instead of the planner. My cousin, Kelly Hudak of Peace, Love, & Food, is quite the planner in her own right. It was such a fun day and GREAT party,  I had to feature it on my blog today. The party was held at Plainbrooke Farms in Birchrunville, PA. Such a gorgeous property and wonderful people running the show there. (If you are out that way, check them out!) The birthday girl takes regular lessons there and is a BIG TIME horse lover. She's GOOD, too!

There were only 8 guests which made it really sweet and laid back. Each girl got a free riding lesson and lots of time riding. The staff there really made the kids feel comfortable.

Beautiful birthday girl is a natural!

Four little cuties excitedly wait for their turn!

 The birthday girl poses with one of the horses! Gorgeous!

All the girls loved feeding and brushing the horses.

Inside one of the large barns on the property is a party room. A great open space with a table on one side and a trampoline on the other side. The kids were loving it! Of course, I brought a few pom poms to hang here and there. 

My hand made bunting and pom poms are available at my Etsy shop:  www.etsy.com/shop/prettimini

 Loved the sweet horse cake the mom made! Only her 2nd cake ever!  

 There were horse themed plates, napkins, and crafts for the kids.

Check out this cute party favor! I love how she used these bandannas & twine to wrap the gift. The hand made tags were the perfect touch!

Inside...a cute little pony!

 The horses ribbons hang on the wall.

Such a fun day - and hey! - I learned a new craft...face painting! My daughter, Ruby was happy to be my model. She says she'd willing help again if I want to "practice" so maybe I will be adding this to my parties soon!

I'd love, love, love to do a party like this in our area (Bucks County). There is a great farm where my daughter rides that does pony visits. It's called Barclay Farms. So if you're daughter is dreaming of a pony party - sign me up!  And look up www.ponypartypeople.com  They are fantastic. You will love Janet, her girls, and her friendly horses! I have visions of pink and brown running around my head already! 

The Pop Star Party!

I had the great pleasure of doing this fun pop star themed party this weekend. This party was MADE for birthday girl Mia and her sister, Sarah!  Such sweet and talented girls! 

The day started with a walk down the red carpet:

With a mic in hand, I greeted and interviewed each "pop star" on the red carpet as they arrived. The sister of the bday girl video taped each one as I asked them how they felt about being part of the concert and what they had planned on singing for us, etc. It was great. They were so so cute.  The mom stood at the door photographing them. They were handed a custom made concert ticket outside (to get in the VIP Entrance) and when they got inside, they also received their VIP backstage pass.

Of course, we got plenty of shots of the birthday girl and her sister before the guests arrived.

 Inside, the table was glamorously set for 15 awesome pop stars.

I used old records as chargers and for decoration. To my surprise, this group of 9 year olds not only knew what they were, but were also really impressed by them! "Are these real records?" "Wow, these are really cool!"

Place card holders were made with mini disco ball ornaments, flat washers (on the bottom) and stars (personalized, cut out, and glued onto tooth pics). I used a lot of disco balls for decoration, too.

I made "microphones" on the cake plates to match the cupcakes (below) using tall glass vases and filled with glass beads, topped with a glittery Christmas ball. The purple one was a wrapping paper insert I spray painted. Glued a flat washer on the bottom to keep it standing and added a glitter ball on top.

 Check out these microphone cupcakes! I found the idea on Pinterest and gave to my awesome baker, Kelly Ott of Cannon Classic Cakes/Delaware Desserts. The girls went crazy for them!

Is this chair cute or what? Amazing what a can of spray paint can do! Was so excited to use my fun chair as a special seat for the birthday girl.

In the main party room, we did a microphone craft. I pre-made the mics out of toilet paper rolls & glitter balls. Got a lot of use out of that can of spray paint! They were super easy to make.

There was a table set up for make-up and props set out for fun. I brought boas and hats and the girls had quite a bit in their own collection to add.  Plus all the girls got gold or silver super star shades.

A fun thing to do for a party like this is to take some shots the day before the party.  I got some great shots of  Sarah and Mia signing into the purple mics and printed up for the party. I hung them on the wall along with the prints I made of Katy Perry, Kesha, Ga Ga, etc. They turned out so cute.

Next up was an autograph session. The girls designed their own scrapbook page, then had all their friends sign it.

 Of course, the main event was the karaoke. Before, during, and after the crafts. We started out with a dance party then I MC'd it as if it was a concert. I made a mock stage with a round rug and black back drop. This was a great spot for taking photos, too!

Gorgeous!

 They danced. They sang. They hammed it up. I enjoyed every minute of it. And I'm pretty sure they did, too!  Great, great time with a wonderful group of girls.

 Happy Birthday, Mia, you superstar!!!

Party Credits:

Party Design & Styling: Plan Me A Party

Cupcakes: Canon Classic Cakes & Cupcakes/Delaware Desserts

Paper Goods - (Buffet cards & water bottle labels) - Pretti Mini Party Goods

Visit Pretti Mini's profile on Pinterest.

Holiday Wrapping Goes GREEN!

Well, I tossed my fancy paper tradition this year, and did something a little crafty instead. Using plain "paper bag" type paper may not seem exciting, but it's the perfect backdrop for anything crafty, handmade, or fancy you want to add to it. You can really make a gift personal, sweet, funny, anything you want! I used all red ribbon and personalized name tags. Red and green really "pop" on the plain paper and give a sweet old fashioned feel. I also cut out some felt and made the green bows which I thought turned out nice. You could add ornaments, twigs and berries, candy canes, gag gifts, or a little toy on top. Sky is the limit! Have fun and let your inner Santa come out to play! :-)

I got the tag from Society Shirts. It's actually an iron on graphic and their designs are oh so cute! Only $4 each and some of the money goes to charity! FYI - these make super cute gifts!!! I made holiday PJ's for my daughter and a few tee shirt gifts already! Then I printed the same graphic on card stock to use for the gift tags.

 The roll of brown paper (sometimes called butcher paper) can be found at your local Five and Below, dollar store, or craft store. Super cheap and super GREEN, too!

So what are you waiting for? Go get crafty and give out some special, personal gifts this year!

Spa Party with a "Wild" Twist

Who says a spa party has to be all subdued colors and serene music? Not for these gals!  When Mom, Suzanne, asked me if I could do the party in aqua blue and zebra, I knew I was in for a fun day! And it sure was!

Here are some details...

 The spa table was set up in the family's dining room. This is where we did our facials.

 The family room served as the craft and lounge area as well a place for mani's and pedi's.

The girls making bath salts. As you can tell, they enjoyed it!

Manicure and pedicure stations.

The birthday girl's picture was a perfect centerpiece for the mantel!

The dining table was set up in the family's formal living room. 

A few sweet party guests enjoying the day.

The sweets table included zebra cupcakes and aqua and white lolli's. 

 Next up were the facials. Always the highlight of the day. 

Birthday girl chillin' with the cucumbers.

Some of the paper goods I made for the party. (Available at Etsy!)

And I'll end this post with my favorite shot of the day. A really great mom watching her awesome daughter blow out the birthday candle. That's the stuff of life, my friends. That's the stuff.

Party Credits:

Party Styling: Plan Me A Party

Cupcakes: Cannon Classic Cakes & Cupcakes

Tulle Pom Poms and paper goods: Pretti Mini Party Goods