Tip Tuesday: Less is More

When I first set out to plan my 35th birthday party, I really wanted to go with a Midsummer Night's Dream theme....and if you read this post you will know that did not happen.  I was really bummed about it because I loved the theme and thing it's a great idea.  It might not be something I can plan right now, but a great possible theme for a future event.  In any case what I learned by switching up themes and scaling down when you're short on time and money is that less is more. 

What I was able to produce with a few pieces of paper, ribbon, twine, mason jars, sand candles, paper table cloths, fake silverware, and some honeycomb balloons actually turned out better than I'd hoped.

When planning a party that you really have a tight budget on my tip is to use low cost items.  I went and got a lot of items on clearance and between $1-$3.  My biggest expense were bulk packs of plastic plates and cups.  I am an advocate of the Dollar Store and Discount Stores, you can always find something fabulous without cringing at check out.

Don't be afraid to use items you already have on hand.  My husband jokes that I keep the mason jars that we have from our spaghetti sauce.  However - those empty jars made great candle holders, filled with a bit of sand and a tealight candle, dressed up with ribbon - and voila!

I also purchased honeycomb balls at the party store and wanted to add a touch of elegance and charm by enhancing it with ribbon.

 

These are just a few simple ideas on how to do a lot with less.....just be creative and have fun with it!

Picture Sources
Room filled with Balloons
Simple Table Setting With Balloons

Tip Tuesday: A Lil' Link Love from Blogs I Heart

I'm super busy with God knows what to get my Etsy store set up!  I didn't want to let another day to go by without posting. 

Every few months, I always try and find out what colors will be hot for the upcoming season.  Knowing this information provides me with some inspiration on colors I choose for my party designs or fabrics for table settings.

Here are the colors that Pantone has forecasted for Fall/Winter 2010

Pantone

I'm a bit partial to Purple Orchid, Chocolate Truffle, Lagoon and Woodbine for this upcoming season:

Inspiration is everywhere!!!

Also, I came across this dandy DIY and thought it would be such a great project to take on for my next party.  Here is a cool and too fun DIY on personalizing paper napkins from Twig & Thistle courtesy of Amy Atlas

Photo Credits:
Birthday Banner
Green Scheme Tablescape
Purple Shoes
Festive Table Centerpiece
Tiered Stand
Orchids

Tip Tuesday: Tips for Planning Kids Parties

When I first started writing today's tip I started out with the intention of sharing five tips.  However, I realized halfway into the post each tip had a backstory and a lesson and this post started to get too long.  So, I'll be posting one tip for the next five Tip Tuesday posts.  It's like a series!

I have had four (going on five) years of practice when it comes to planning my own kids' parties and let me just say that with each party I have taken away a great deal of knowledge.   One of those things is learning why less is more.

Today's Tip: Eight is enough

If my parties were a 70's era hit tv show and Willie Aames was my brother, I would have known that inviting too many people to a kid's party is not the best idea.  I also would have taken a clue from those fill-in invitations at CVS that only allow ya to invite eight people.  I could never figure the reason behind that until last year when I had a house full of kids and felt a smidge overwhelmed. 

In the past I have had a house full of family, friends, kids & parents over for my kids' birthdays.  Anyone that knows me will tell you I love a good party, but really, I can't remember anything about them except how stressed I'd get from doing so much.  This might not make since for an event planner, but we're talking about my daughter and son here.  I should be able to see how excited they are and not why my poor child didn't get a piece of cake at her own party!

I think a good rule of thumb is to invite a maximum of eight guests to your child's party  if they are under eight years old.  I once read somewhere that you should invite as many kids as your child's age plus two.  I always thought that was a silly concept - until The Mini Diva's last bday party.  In hind site there were too many people, too many kids of different ages, and she got pushed out some activities and games when the attention should have been on her.  I was so busy going back and forth between the parents and my friends and the kids, that I was too overwhelmed to know that she wasn't having fun as she should have been. 

It really makes life easy for you and also allows your child to enjoy the party guests if you keep the guest list at a low number.  A good example of how this works best is another party we threw for The Mini Diva.   I got rsvp's from six kids and only two girls showed up.  At first I was a little sad for my daughter because she was so excited about the party - but there were so few guests.  I was also mad at the parents who didn't show because I'd bought all those cute party sets and favors from Party City and then not to show up - ugh.  Well, when it was all said and done I realized she had just the right amount of party guests and I didn't feel overwelmed.  A good time to be had by all!

In the next Tip Tuesday post I'll share with you why you should steer clear of the grocery store bakery - I have a horror story that will make you cringe!  .....and don't forget to enter to win this week's Princess and the Frog DVD GIVEAWAY!!!!