Posts Tagged ‘children’

{Real Parties} Happy Haunts Birthday Spooktacular

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

Yes, I know Halloween is over, but I cannot wait an entire year to share with you the Happy Haunts Birthday Spooktacular I threw on Saturday for my son’s 4th birthday.

For those in the northeast, you can recall how horrible the weather was – sleet, ice, rain, snow, and wind!  While we were fortunate to not have the brunt of the storm, the uncooperative weather made it difficult for transporting all of the props and party elements to our venue.

A few weeks prior, guests were invited to our happy haunts party.

Guests entered the party through a graveyard filled with handmade tombstones.  In a nod to Luca’s request for a party based on the Disney attraction, Haunted Mansion, our tombstones feature the same amusing epitaphs.

I used velvet and lace layers to add texture to the tables, tarnished silver candleabras (my awesome flea market find) with cobwebbing and small bust statues as centerpieces.  Additional guest tables also featured vintage photos of eerie people, dimensional glittered haunted houses, and bust statues.

A coffin filled with reindeer moss, a glittered skeleton held the child’s placecards which sat upon an eggplant satin napkin and silver charger.

Activities included painting pumpkins, donut-on-a-string game, and wrap a mummy game.

Guests were asked to be wary of Hitchhiking Ghosts

Guests were also able to listen to a Madame fortune teller chant her seance spells from her crystal ball among bottles of elixirs and potions.

Food and drinks were given Halloween and Spookishly (yes, I just made up a new word!) appropriate names including Bat Wings (Buffalo Chicken Wings), Halloweenies, Monster Mashed Potato Bar, Earth Worms (Pasta Salad), Spellbinders (an adult cocktail), and Vampire Blood (kid friendly fruit punch served in a cauldron).

The dessert table featured an eggplant backdrop with black damask demon motif painted onto it drapped with creepy tea-stained cheesecloth.  The chocolate and butterscotch tiered cake was designed by Elyse of Joy & Cake.

Sweets consisted of gluten free cupcakes with chocolate bats, caramel apples, black & white swirl lollipops, meringues, and chocolate bark.

At the favor display, guests were thanked and asked to hurry back to see us again.

Adults selected a mummy wrapped candy bar, the older children were given 2 classic horror novels, such as Frankenstein, tied with black glittered ribbon and adorned with a tag. The young children received a Magic 8 ball, assorted sweet treats, glow stick, and stickers.

Happy  Birthday Luca!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Birthday, Halloween, real parties | 2 Comments »

{Real Parties} Cibella’s Elegant Bayou Birthday Party

Friday, October 7th, 2011

I’m so excited to share with you the pictures from Cibella’s party today.

While designing this party, I keep trying to figure out a way to make our backyard a swamp.  Trust me when I say that the idea of flooding the yard did not go over all too well.  In lieu of flooding, we built 3 framed ponds to hold the water and an abundance of water plants including lily pads to create a backdrop to our feature table.

As a result of Hurricane Irene, there were many fallen trees and I was able to find stumps around town to use as seating for the children attending.

I stumbled upon the frog statue on clearance at Home Goods.  A few coats of spray paint gave him a facelift, and he was ready for the party.

Layers of textured linens in chocolate and moss green with tree limbs, moss, and pods arranged down the center of the table helped create to bayou atmosphere.  A lily pad was placed at each setting on top of satin chocolate brown napkins.

I created a sign welcoming the guests to Cibella’s Place which was hung among baskets of ferns.

I created 3 activity stations for the children; Masquerade Masks, Ray’s Firefly Friends puwhich allowed them to make their own firefly craft with glow-in-the-dark tail, and Not to Worry Dolls.  While voodoo and magic are present in bayou areas and New Orleans, I wanted a craft that reflected upon this but was more child-friendly.  It was the hit of the party – I think every guest went home with one!

Our beverages were given fun names like Swamp Water (for the adults), Mama Odie’s Good Potion (raspberry lemonade), and Facilier’s Evil Potion (punch).  We served fried chicken, jambalaya, red beans & rice, chicken & biscuits, string beans, and oven roasted potatoes for dinner.  The guests enjoyed having a taste of the theme’s regional cuisine.

The centerpiece of our dessert table was the stunning cake of chocolate and butterscotch filling created by Elyse of Joy & Cake; she is so easy to work with, and not only do the cakes look stunning, but they taste wonderful, too!

I used a cherry wood desk to hold the multitude of sweets and desserts.  Caramel and chocolate fudge, 3 varieties of chocolate truffles, cinnamon sugar donuts, almond bark, sugar cookies, mudpie, gluten free cupcakes, and of course, beignets!

Wanting to create the elegant bayou feel, I used more tree limbs and moss, adding distressed urns with hanging amaranthus and tree bark wood plaques as trays.  Instead of a fabric backdrop, I opted to use the natural greenery around our koi pond.

Cibella provided 3 different favors to thank her guests for coming to the party.  For her infant cousins, a frog prince or princess plush animal with a storybook, for the adults, homemade pralines wrapped in ribbon with a double layer fancy sticker, and for the children, monogrammed aprons with a prince or princess frog cookie cutter, and a wooden spoon to help mom or dad cook in the kitchen.

Happy Birthday Cibella!

Our Bayou Frog Princess Collection, including favor tags, invitation, door sign, placecards, and cupcake toppers, will be in our store next week!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Birthday, Girl, real parties | 1 Comment »

{Real Parties} Popsicle Party

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Yes, I’m back!  A much too long of an absence, but we have been quite busy at Belleza e Luce.  There are some new things coming up in the next few weeks which I am super excited about!

With summer in full swing, I wanted to share with you a party my children had for a few of their friends.  It was a glorified playdate, really, to celebrate the beginning of summer and the end of the school year.  Unfortunately for us, the weather was not too cooperative so swimming was out of the question.  We ultimately had to move the party indoors due to some heavy rains, but I was able to get some photos before the last minute party relocation.

My daughter requested bright colored invitations with stripes.  With a vintage carnival-like poster in my head, I created a palette of fuschia, aqua, yellow, creamsicle, and lime green.  The colors worked together beautifully!  I enjoyed creating this sophisticated, yet playful invitation and it would be equally fitting for an adult get-together as well!

Their group of friends were first invited to lunch a lunch of turkey and cheese sandwiches, grapes, and carrots sticks, which I served in lime and yellow bags.

In my effort to keep things simple for the party, I purchased 3 bouquets of daisies from the local supermarket and placed them in bowls of colored jello.  Simple andeasy centerpiece, much to the delight of the party guests who thought it was colored water!

Following lunch, they created some beautiful sand art.

The rain stopped long enough for the children to be able to throw water balloons into targets, at trees, and bushes.

I used acrylic frames found at the craft store to hold crushed ice and laid the popsicles on top.  Preparing this ahead of time, saved time later when the kids were extra excited over dessert.

Cibella and Luca gave each of their friends a small beach bucket filled with a large lollipop, pinwheel, bottle of bubbles, and some sidewalk chalk.

A favor sticker simply stated, “Happy  Summer!”

The Popsicle Party invitations and favor stickers are now available in my shop!  Water bottle labels, bubble labels, large stickers, banner, and cupcake toppers will be available soon!

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Party Lines, real parties | 2 Comments »

{Real Parties} Easter Egg Hunt

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

The snow has FINALLY melted from the last bit of grass at my house and with the milder temperatures, dare I say that spring may be on its way?  The wind gusts certainly are roaring like a lion on this 1st day of March, and I am anxiously waiting for the spring weather to arrive.

If any of my readers know my children, you know that they have their next 5 birthday party themes already chosen (must be an occupational hazard resulting from mom being an event planner!)  So it should come as no surprise that we are already planning our Annual Easter Egg Hunt.  Stay tuned for a sneak peak of invitations and an inspiration board later this month!

I thought I would share last year’s egg hunt, in light of this coming-soon-spring-weather (can you tell I really am ready for spring?).

I created boxed invitations featured a faux grass liner which the invitation sat upon.  Since the egg hunt had a small guest list, most of the invitations were hand delivered and sealed with pretty purple ribbon and a label.  The few that needed to be mailed required a wraparound mailing label as the USPS Postal Service would have frowned upon the ribbon.

The weather was beautiful, much to my delight!  I set up a long children’s sized table complete with children’s sized white ballroom chairs.  For the 2 weeks approaching the party, I was growing trays and egg cups filled with wheat grass which I used on the table.  I kept the party simple with a craft and bean bag toss game while we waited for everyone to arrive.

Then it was onto the hunt!  Each child was given a basket and were on the search for the eggs the Easter bunny left for them.  There were over 150 eggs for 12 children to find and sure enough in July my children would still find one here or there!

Afterwards, the children played egg on a spoon.  I found painted wooden eggs so there was no worry of breaking eggs and making messes.  This age group was 2 – 4 1/2 years in age, so an older age range of children would be able to handle real eggs to make it more challenging for them.  For this group is was the perfect game of concentration, fine and gross motor skills.

I choose not to serve lunch as the party started after 1 o’clock and instead, opted for fruit, vegetables and dips, and an assortment of sweets featuring Bakerella‘s chick cake pops, birds’ nest cupcakes, and dirt served in a (lined) gardening pot.

In addition to the treats they collected during the egg hunt, every child was given a felt bag with seeds and a small pot to grow their own vegetable plant or flower.

Belleza e Luce has  some openings for Easter Egg Parties in April still available if you have not already scheduled yours.  Contact us today!

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Easter, Holidays, real parties | No Comments »

{Inspiration} Valentine’s Day

Saturday, January 1st, 2011

With the holiday season officially over, I thought I would jump right into 2011 with an inspiration board designed for a children’s Valentine’s party.

I tend to keep Valentine parties on the simpler side, focusing on friendship, crafts, and activities, and keep a color palette of red, pink, and white.  I based this inspiration board on our new printable Valentine Hearts invitation, now available in our Etsy shop.

{sources: bonbons, garland, table runner, centerpiece, chairback decor, pistachio wreath, cookies, invitation, tic tac toe, candy sundae, cupcake toppers, legwarmers, friendship bracelet}

Tips for hosting a Children’s Valentine’s Party:

  • Two to 2 1/2 hours is plenty of time for the party.
  • If the party will be held on a weekday, schedule it for immediately following school, so it will be over before dinner-time and not too late that homework cannot be completed.
  • Decorate with felt hearts strung together with baker’s twine.  Create various length strands to hang from ceilings, chandeliers, and drape across windows or mantels.
  • Invest in a good quality white cloth tablecloth.  You can easily change the look for different occasions by adding table runners, chargers, or placemats.
  • If your party will include crafts, place butcher paper over your tablecloth and remove when done so your space is neat and clean for enjoying sweets and treats.
  • Always offer a healthy treat in addition to the fun cupcakes, cakes, and confections.  Fruit with a yogurt dip is a wonderful choice.
  • Rather than sending your little guests home with more sugary treats, a friendship bracelet created by your child will certainly be more meaningful to their friends and appreciated by their parents!


Contact Belleza e Luce today for customized Inspiration Boards for your next event or to schedule a Valentine’s Party for your child!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Holidays, Inspiration Boards, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day | No Comments »

Real Parties: Handy Manny 1st Birthday

Thursday, December 10th, 2009
When my little guy was about to turn 1, I was originally planning a Hundred Acre Wood Pooh themed party.  All that changed when he became fascinated with Handy Manny.  This grew even more as my dad would let him help him out around the house.  I knew I needed to change themes – and fast!
First I created the invitations to resemble Handy Manny’s shop sign.

 

and since I couldn’t decide which one I liked better, I designed a second version as well!
Since Luca’s birthday is the end of October, the weather here can be cold or oddly warm.  As much as I would love to be able to plan the weather, I cannot, so the party was held in the gym at the school of our church.  This turned out to be a great idea (I hosted his second birthday there 3 weeks ago).  There was plenty of room for all the kids to run around and play!
One of the first projects I created were the tablecloths.  I purchased paper dropcloths and paint brushes from Home Depot, and Crayola paint.  I laid the cloths out on the grass in the yard and with my daughter’s help we splattered paint over all the drop cloths.  This was a messy and fun activity!  If you decide to do this, have an area preferably indoors where the cloths can be laid out to dry overnight.  One drop cloth made 2 tablecloths.
Here is the children’s craft table with playdough, Handy Manny and tools coloring pages and crayons were added to the table after this was taken.
When my dad heard the theme for the party, he immediately went to work on the centerpieces – red toolboxes just like Handy Manny’s!  Each toolbox had Mega Blocks and plastic toys to encourage building – both children and adults got in on the fun!  Each child was able to take a tool box home at the end of the party.  I have Luca’s displayed in his room – it goes with his Cars themed bedroom great too!
I used yellow Caution tape to block off areas that the kids could not play near.  On the walls my dad and I traced the characters with a projector and painted them.  Also on the walls were pictures of blueprints (how to build a birdhouse, a toolbox, etc) just like in Manny’s shop.

Chips, pretzels and other snacks were placed in orange paint trays
The children ranged in age from 1 year to 4 years, so I didn’t have any real structure to the party or games, per say.  I had music from children’s artists playing (Dan Zane, Imagination Movers, Choo Choo Soul, etc) which encouraged dancing and running.  Other activities for the children included this hopscotch puzzle mat
a giant bowling set
When each child arrived they received a hard hat to wear for the party.
I made a pull string pinata to resemble the tape measure, Stretch.  I prefer pull string pinatas so no one gets whacked in the head and the kids all feel like they opened the pinata together.
Inside were plastic tools and plastic character figures purchased from the Disney Store.
Here is the birthday boy by his cakes and cupcakes that I made.  The large red thing was my failed attempt of making a tool box.  I started working on the cake too late in the week and really didn’t think it through.  This year’s cake was great!
As you can see, Luca enjoyed his cake!
For the favors, I set up Mr. Lopart’s Candy Shop.  Guests were invited to fill up their take-out boxes with as many goodies as they wanted.  I purchased the candy in bulk from Candy Warehouse and choose novelty and old-fashioned candies.  My older cousins, aunts and uncles especially liked the walk down memory lane as they picked out their favorite childhood treats.
The take out boxes had favor tags shaped like hammers attached to them
The tags for the kids had their names on them.
Because Halloween was only the night prior, I had additional children’s favors which included playdough, safety goggles, a hammer, stickers, and room for their pinata goodies – non candy option.
The party was a success and I had a fabulous time building it!
Hammer Tags can by found in my shop

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Birthday, Boy, Family, real parties | No Comments »

Children’s Cookie Decorating Party

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

I love to bake and I’m thrilled that my 3 year old daughter is showing such enthusiasm towards it as well.  I am looking forward to making our family’s favorite Christmas cookies in a few weeks with her and hoping that my son will want to help too!

A fun way to get together with family and friends with small children is to host a cookie decorating party.  Keep it casual and low key and follow the lead of the little one’s.

Some tips and inspirations to get you started:

  • Host your party on a weekday afternoon, if possible since weekends tend to fill up in advance with other holiday festivities.
  • Roll out white (or red or green) butcher paper on your table for simple cleaning up.
  • Provide the cookies, icing and decorations for the party (see below for Martha Stewart’s fabulous sugar cookie and royal icing recipes)
  • Create a placesetting for each child with a stack of cookies to decorate and small cups of various sprinkles, gumdrops, chocolate chips, etc to decorate with and have bowls of icing in varioius colors with brushes down the center of the table for them to share.
  • Offer milk and eggnog for a festive beverage and consider having some healthy snacks for adults and kids to munch on.

Some more fabulous ideas & inspirations

Create the festive mood with this gingerbread cookie invitation from Belleza e Luce ; Send your guests home with their creations in these festive boxes from Wilton; Your little girl adore helping out in the kitchen with this fabulous retro inspired holiday apron.  Guess what?  They come in adult sizes too!  Find it at Lover Dovers Clothing; Offer your guests hot chocolate and refreshments on these charming gingerbread man and Christmas tree mugs and plates from World Market; Protect the little chefs’ clothes with these disposable aprons and throw in a chef’s hat for some fun pictures.  You can find them at Kids Aprons; These absolutely gorgeous cookies are almost too good to eat – almost!  Pick them up for your holiday party or buy some for gifts from Sarah Bisher; This very cute gingerbread mobile would be perfect to hang from the ceiling as a centerpiece for the party.  Find the details at Martha Stewart; A bright and cheery display of various candies and toppings for your sugar cookies from Real Simple; Send the mommies home with their own favor they are sure to enjoy – Cookie Sugar Bath Scrub from Doctor Sweet Tooth; Another favor that adults and children alike will love – hot cocoa cones.  Make them yourself or contact The Desperate Diva
Onto that super yummy sugar cookie and royal icing recipe from Martha Stewart

Sugar Cookies

Makes 2 dozen

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons brandy, or milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Royal Icing, optional

Directions

  1. Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar; add dry ingredients, and mix until incorporated. With mixer running, add egg, brandy (or milk), and vanilla; mix until incorporated.
  2. Transfer dough to a work surface. Shape into 2 discs, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with nonstick baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.
  4. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes, and transfer to prepared baking sheets, leaving an inch in between. Leftover dough can be rolled and cut once more. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes; do not allow to brown. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
  5. Decorate with Royal Icing, optional

Royal Icing

If you’re decorating cookies for children, pregnant women, or anyone with compromised immune systems, use meringue powder, found in the baking aisle of most markets, instead of raw egg whites.

Makes 2 1/3 cups

  • 1 box confectioners’ sugar (1 pound)
  • 5 tablespoons meringue powder, or 2 large egg whites

Directions

  1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar and meringue powder. Mixing on low speed, add a scant 1/2 cup water. For a thinner consistency, usually used for flooding, add more water. A thicker consistency is generally used for outlining and adding details. Mix until icing holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface of the mixture for 5 seconds when you raise the paddle.

Happy Baking!

Danielle

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Inspiration Boards | No Comments »