PARTY :: Peace Love & FUN-do Party - Part 2

THANK YOU all for all the sweet comments about my daughter's "Peace, Love & FUN-do" party that I shared last week with all of you!! I am FINALLY done with PART 2 & ready to share with you all the groovy eye candy.

If you happened to miss the first part of this party, just click here to see PART 1 where I debuted the details on the DECOR, DESSERT TABLE & TABLE BACKDROP. 

~ the CANDY BAR ~ 
 

My daughter really wanted a candy bar {again} but we have already done them in years prior . . . however she WON & got a small candy bar to share with friends. And that was OK by me - anything the kid wants, right? What did she think it was, HER birthday party or something - geesh! lol

Ahhhhh THE shelves! lol Do you all remember that day before the party that I said I was running to Lowe's for spray paint? Well yeah . . .ummmm . . THESE shelves were 'supposed' to have been spray painted white for the party BUT  . . . .keepin' it REAL here. . . . That project didn't happen. I have a tendency to "plan" on doing everything at the eleventh hour & then "cutting" my to-do list of things I had planned, one, maybe two/three times . . .OK maybe more like four or five - anyone else do that or just me?? LOL 

Finding "retro" candy AND finding it in THE exact colors to match the decor proved to be a daunting task but I did manage to pull in some oldies but goodies: Nerds, Chiclets, happy face lollipops, Sixlets, Pixie Stix, rock candy, orange slices & more!

I also came up with a couple DIY projects for the candy bar as well that I thought were pretty EASY & fun.

First one, was I did something I have never made before: MAKE candy!

Super easy & quick- I used an ice cube mold from IKEA, added a few decorative candies, melted the chocolate & poured into the mold, allow to set & pop out. Pretty simple! What do you think? Not bad huh?

Hearts & flowers to match the party!

The other project I did:  {since giving up Coke last year}, I needed to find an alternative to my daily liquid 'fix' every day & that's where Chrystal Light mango peach green tea comes in! I had been saving the containers for "something". Well the "something" ended up being the containers for the candy bar!

They were great as they had a lid & fit all the little candies in them.

The kids LOVED them. I decorated them with a napkin wrap that fits PERFECTLY around them & then added one of the toppers. DONE! Best part =FREE!

I also had some really cute gable boxes that were sent to me by Julie from CakesandKids.Com & they were perfect for taking some of the candy "overflow" or packing up some cupcakes to take home - again a BIG hit with the kids.

The other BIG thing I LOVED about the candy bar was collaborating with my good friend Luci from I Love Candy by Luci as she created these amazing PEACE sign lollipops, Thank You lollipops & pretzel stix!

~ the FAVOR BAR ~ 
 

I set up the other 'unpainted' shelf in front of our fireplace in the living room to display all the favors for the kids to take home.

And YES those clothespins holding up her banner on the mantel have been dyed to match (just like the fondue skewers were - LOL)

 

So what did the kids get as party favors?

Well first of all they all got these heart shaped boxes right when they all arrived to the party. I found a surplus of these boxes in my office supply closet but they were pink! So I spray painted them aqua to match & we used them to house the AWESOME Peace bottlecap necklaces that Staci from Lizard & Ladybug made me that she based off one of my designs! Aren't these so CUTE!? My daughter INSISTED on giving the kids these to wear during the party - right when they got here! I thought it was sweet!

And believe it or not, we actually got all the kids to sit down to open them (so I could take pictures) - they were so excited & adorable!

The other surprise for them were these adorable little paint cans that I had picked up in the dollar section at Target many trips ago & had saved.  I wrapped some coordinating paper around them & added some toppers - they were fun!

We found some things that 'coordinated' to put into them. She is ALWAYS in charge of what goes in & who gets which ones - love how detail-oriented this kid is! Have NOOOOOOO idea where she acquired that trait! LOL

~ Photo Booth FUN ~ 

I LOVE having a photo booth area where people can just have fun & be a kid! I had one at my wedding & as long as it's something everyone enjoys, then I will probably have them for a long time! Having said that, I designed some photo props just to coordinate & everyone loved it.

And like I said the adults even had a little fun - myself included - with my sister & best friend.

A fun DIY project that I did for the photo booth, is I had purchased these mini & oversized conversation bubbles over on Pick Your Plum awhile back (you can see some of the kids holding them in the pics above) & thought I'd save them for the party. 

So for the smaller ones, what we did is painted them with black chalkboard paint & glued them to a small dowel rod so the kids could play with them & then take them home. We also used the BIG ones at the party to write messages on! Bought some colored chalk to have on hand . . . SO fun!

Skylar also had a special gift made from Staci of Lizard & Ladybug, not only did she make the necklaces for the favors, she also made a very SPECIAL cup for the birthday girl that she has started selling - so contact her & she will hook you up!

Trust me your kid will LOVE you for it, as mine doesn't "EVER" want to drink out of another cup ever again because she LOVES this one soooo much!! haha

The main thing about this party that I want to stress is I re-used & re-cycled SOOOOOOO many things as the budget was VERY tight, so take it from me- it can be done.

Trust me if you knew how this wreath was made & how I did this tablecloth you would be laughing hysterically! But that's what happens when you have to 'improvise" huh? ;)

I hope you all have enjoyed the "eye candy" & have been inspired for your next event.

If you wish to check out this collection it is NOW available in my Etsy shop - 

"Peace, Love & FUN-do". 

Thanks for being a fan!

Are you loving the "eye candy" here?

Then join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Instagram so you never miss out on an exclusive deal or any behind the scenes photos!

 

Check out my designs, artwork & decor in my Etsy shop!     

PARTY :: Peace Love & FUN-do Party - Part 1

YAY! So stoked to FINALLY be sharing the "Peace, Love & FUN-do" party with all of you!! I FINALLY have gotten all of the pics edited from my daughter's 9th birthday party a couple weeks ago! Man do those pics sure take awhile when you shoot, edit & color correct all yourself! whew!

I am going to be posting this party in TWO different posts as I have a lot to share! Hope you enjoy the groovy vibes from this retro yet modern take on my daughter's "Peace" party!

So just in case you are wondering WHERE the theme came from, here's the story. My daughter LOVES peace signs - period. Of course, I wanted to make sure it was different from other 'peace' parties + tried to think of an idea that we hadn't done before so I told her, 'ya know what would be cool?, we should have a fondue bar & then the theme could be "peace, love & fondue". Well she looked at me & said 'what the heck is fun-do?' I laughed. Alot. Explained the whole thing but decided to keep the name as it serves TWO purposes. 

 
One. We DID have a fondue bar.
Two. The kids had lots to FUN-do at the party.

~ the DECOR ~ 

When planning for this party, I tried to be 'savvy' with my budget as I didn't have a large amount to spend so I used A LOT of items I already had & what I did buy, I got a crazy deal on. Decor was fun as I used this opportunity to 'craft' quite a few of the things that I used. 

One of my FAVORITE DIY's for this party was the long, long, long purple ribbon chandeliers {middle pic below} that I created for this party. They were SOOO easy to make & added so much to the 'vibe' of the party!

(unfortunately it was hard to 'capture' how cool they were - at least with me taking all the photos- lol)

Some of the other DIY projects I did . . .  

~ peace flower wreath for the dessert backdrop 

~ ruffled dessert table tablecloth

~ groovy "lamps" on dessert table

~ the DESSERT TABLE ~ 

I always try to do as much of the dessert table myself - I just LOVE baking/ desserts, so it's something I really don't mind at all. This year when I asked my daughter what kind of cake she wanted, she said a cookie cake!!

 Hmmmm . . well okay then, a cookie "cake" is what your momma will make!

Oh yes I did! I made a 'cake' out of cookies instead of a typical cake. It was pretty simple & my daughter LOVED the cake because chocolate chip cookies are her FAV so this worked out perfect. I was just hoping it would work out since I had never done something like this but it did. Whew!

Linda from Frog Prince Cake & Cookie Design sculpted the fondant cake topper of my daughter! I think she nailed it! The blonde hair, the peace sign shirt, the skirt, the chucks, eye color . . . not to mention the headband & bracelet that looks like something from the Skylar Raine shop! My heart melted when I first saw it - it made me soo soo HAPPY! She is a fondant sculpting GENIUS! She totally rocked this cake topper & the look on my daughter's face when she walked into the party was PRICELESS!

She was so excited about it!

 Of course, the MAIN focal point of a "FUN-do" party is to have a FONDUE bar!

And that we did! Of course we had to teach the kids how to "DO" the 'fondue' but they had a lot of fun with it!

I also made the BEST caramel chocolate fondue recipe that I will share with you next week! It was DELISH! Plus we had LOTS of goodies to dip into it - per a certain 9 year olds request!

One fun DIY project I did with this fondue bar is I dyed the skewers for dipping to match the party colors. (I also did the tiny clothespins I used to hang the banner) You can find the DIY tip here from Tablespoon, on their blog.

 

We used sundae waffle bowls to hold the fondue & make it 'portable' & had everything from donut holes, potato chips, strawberries, vanilla wafers, angel food cake, Twinkies, marshmallows, graham cracker stix & pretzel stix for dipping. Ya know, just the typical kid-friendly foods! PLUS the bonus factor: the kids LOVED the fact that they could EAT their dipping bowl!

Also on the dessert table were a 'few' other items . . . all chosen & keeping the retro theme in mind: Twinkies, orange Jell-O, oatmeal pies, mini cupcakes, cookies, cakepops & more!

And YES - I HAD to make peace signs on the store-bought oatmeal pies!

As well as make chocolate peace signs to put on top of the cupcakes!

I just HAD to 'dress' them up! ;)

 

 And of course there were the beautiful cookies from Frog Prince Cake & Cookie Design that matched so well.

 Blondie's Treats provided these AMAZING cake pops that totally rocked!!!!

~ the TABLE BACKDROP ~ 

I love making backdrops for my dessert tables & really wanted to make this one very authentic & get a retro feel but keep it modern. I decided on a little glitter, some ric rac, LOTS of flowers & what else says this time era than a DAISY WREATH!

This was a fun DIY & was pretty easy to make. I love the way it came out!

 And YES these ARE the mini clothes pins I dyed to match the decor when I did the fondue skewers! LOL

And here's the party girl with one of her best friends, Abby enjoying some of the photo props! 

(and yes I know Skylar is spelled wrong - kids! Whatcha gonna do - they're still so cute!)

  

The rest of the party I will share with you in PART 2 & will include the candy bar, favor bar, photo booth & the FUN the people DO - (lol)! Hope you will be back for some more "eye candy".

If you wish to check out this collection it is NOW available in my Etsy shop - 

"Peace, Love & FUN-do". 

Thanks for being a fan!

PART 2 of this party is posted - check it out here!

Are you loving the "eye candy" here?

Then join me over on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter & Instagram so you never miss out on an exclusive deal or any behind the scenes photos!

 

Check out my designs, artwork & decor in my Etsy shop!