Pipsy Post

The 140th Annual Kentucky Derby will be held on May 3rd, and we’ve been busy filling tons of Derby orders.  Our most popular design this year is a chalkboard style invitation, so I thought it would be fun to make a free printable to coordinate.

This chalkboard style Kentucky Derby poster can be printed to hang on the front door of your party – greeting the guests as the arrive. Or, consider cutting it down to 8×10 inches and placing it in a frame on either the bar (which is serving Mint Juleps, of course) or the dessert table (which better have some Bourbon cake!).

The printable poster is sized at 8.5 by 11 inches, but you can trim it down and use it in an 8×10 frame.  Enjoy!

I live outside of Nashville, in a part of the county that has a lot of horses and beautiful farms.   Combine that with the fact I grew up in Nebraska, and a tractor party seems like perfect inspiration.  Be sure to follow my Tractor Inspiration Board on Pinterest – I’ll be adding fresh new ideas as I find them.

1.  The tractor invitation is available exclusively at Swanky Press – I had a lot of fun creating this design, trying to get something that would make a little guy happy but still be elegant enough for mom to appreciate.  The colors can be changed, of course, and we can put any wording in the tractor banner.

2.  This cake is simply farm-fresh perfection.  I saw the party post on the HWTM blog (and it was a truly amazing party).  The baker was Yuma Couture Cakes.  I love how she combined the tractor tire on the bottom with the hay on the top tier.

3.  This sweet tshirt is perfect for your little farmer.  It’s from Monkey Bug Vinyl on etsy.

4.  Paradise Sweets on etsy made these adorable tractor tire cookies.   Check out her whole shop – all of her cookies are really amazing.  (Personally, I love the surfboard cookies, shark-fin cupcake toppers, and sea turtle cookies.  I have a feeling you’ll be seeing Paradise Sweets featured again soon!)

5.  These tractor lollipops are just darling!  They are from Candied Cakes on etsy. At only $14.99 for 20 lollipops, it’s a great deal for a handmade sweet.  Personally, I would add a little cardstock tag and hand these out as party favors as the guests are leaving.  Be sure to order extras because siblings may be around at pickup and ask for one!

6.  I love the idea of a burlap banner rather than a printed cardstock banner. It fits the feel of this party so much better!  This banner, but Buttons to Burlap on etsy, is joined with jute twine for an even more authentic feel.  Michelle has some other really cute burlap banners you should check out – even one for the gift table!

7.  This photograph is by Rebecca Cote Photography, and is from a party styled by Kysa, featured on the Chickabug blog.  The idea is simple – green utensils in a basket with some tractor ribbon.  I found tractor ribbon at O My Gosh Goodies on etsy.

8.  Cupcakes and Cashmere made these adorable corn on the cob cupcakes.  The tutorial is simple and easy to follow.  (And check out her adorable nails in the photos!  I’m going to have to try that, too.)

9.  This photo, by Simple Flowers & Centerpieces, shows a beautiful way to dress up the party with fresh flowers, but without feeling fussy.  Add some lime slices to the bottom of a mason jar, add daffodils (they are peeking through in my yard this weekend), and wrap with burlap.

I’ve got a little glimpse behind the scenes for you this week.  The majority of our clients are moms, who are always busy and often shopping last minute for something they really meant to get ordered a few weeks ago.  We get it.  Here at Swanky Press, we are all moms, too.  So when you call in stressed that you forgot to order your son’s birthday invitations until the last minute, we understand.  We’ve been there and done that.

My 3 kids are in elementary and middle school, and are at the age where they have a ton going on after school.  To say the least, the schedule gets complicated.  It’s not uncommon to have 3 kids who need to be in 3 different places at the same time.

On Sundays, my husband and I have had to start planning out the week so we can make sure that we’re both available to drive when needed, and that nothing gets missed or forgotten in the kids’ schedules.  We still miss things or occasionally have to cancel a guitar lesson, but the planning sure helps.

I’ve made a printable that we fill out each Sunday, to get a handle on everything that’s coming up.  We post the schedule where the kids will see it, so we can all have a reference to the crazy week that’s coming up.  You can download a free copy of it by clicking below. I hope it helps make your week a little less crazy!

Download Your Free Printable Planner Here.

I have three kids, and at one point or another I’ve thrown each of them a gymnastics party.  Combine that with all of the gymnastics parties we’ve been invited to, and you have a very well-used party theme.  Typical gymnastics parties are either pink (for girls) or primary colors (for boys), so I decided to take a fresh spin on things and design party in a coral and melon color scheme.  The inspiration is still “young and fun”, but it has a touch of sophistication that’s sure to please Mom, too.  Be sure to follow my Gymnastics Inspiration Board on Pinterest – I’ll be adding fresh new ideas as I find them.

1.  The gymnastics invitation is available exclusively at Swanky Press – I drew the sketch to resemble my youngest child.  The hair and eye colors can be changed to more closely resemble your child (and at no extra charge!).

2.  A gorgeous ombre  cake in shades of coral and melon – featured on Style Me Pretty.  The party was crafted by Little Sooti, and the beautiful photo is by Lee Bird Photography.  Definitely check out Little Sooti’s website – she throws absolutely beautiful events.

3.  These classic tissue poms from PomLove on Etsy will add a perfect punch of color hanging above the dessert table.  At only $5 each, it’s an affordable way to coordinate the look.

4.  Loretta’s Beads on Etsy sells great, affordable charms.  These gymnast charms will make a wonderful party craft (strung onto coral string for a necklace) – and can also be a favor for the girls to take home.  You can get 50 for only $9.50, so they’ll be plenty of extras for siblings that might tag along to the party.

5.  I found this sweet little coral colored leotard on Zulilly – it would be just perfect for the birthday girl

6.  These ribbon wands are both practical for gymnastics, but also an adorable touch for the party.  The kids will have so much fun running and jumping with them.  I found them at Minor Details Boutique on Etsy.  (They’re really affordable, too!)

7.  This origami star garland is perfect in so many ways!  Of course, the color is spot-on, but I love the idea of decorating with stars at a gymnastics party.  You can buy it for only $10 at Catch Some Raes on Etsy.

8.  These coral lollipops are actually designed as wedding favors, but I think they’d be a hit at our gymnastics party.  They are from Sweet Caroline Confections on etsy.

9.  Mom needs to look good at the party, too, right?  These coral skinny jeans are on my spring shopping list, and I thought they’d just look perfect worn to the party!  Check them out at the ASOS Marketplace.

Little girls are so sweet, aren’t they? We are just loving this “Sweet Roses” themed birthday party trend.  Soft and delicate, this sweet party theme is perfect for a first birthday, a girlie-girl toddler, or even an older little girl!   From the invitation to the dessert buffet, go all out with this “Sweet Roses” birthday party theme for a girl.  Check out all of our ideas for throwing this party that everyone will  remember.

1.  These pistachio dusted cupcakes adorned with baby pink sugar roses look too good to eat!  Serve on a beautiful white platter or on a cupcake tier.  This fabulous idea was found here.

2.   Sweet Roses 1st birthday party invitation by Swanky Press.  Could this be any sweeter? We are partial to the printed back and the fonts.  With any Swanky Press invitation, you can customize the design, font, and more at no additional charge.  Make it yours!

3.  We love the icing on this beautiful ombre cake! Those roses are just stunning.

4.  Personalized t-shirt by Swanky Press.  We love that it comes in a girlie fit or lettuce edged for a fun touch!  It adds another layer of personalization to your party.

5.  Decorate the chairs (or just the birthday girl’s chair!) with this sweet rose chair decoration.

6.  Is a party without paper lanterns or pom-poms really a party?  We think not!  Find these ones here!

7. Serve appetizers, hors d’oeuvres or snacks on these pretty doilies that coordinate with the theme.  Add a little shabby chic touch here!

8. Make pretty mocktails for kids and cocktails for the adults with this pink drink.   It will look great in the photos and guest will enjoy this yummy and refreshing libation!

If you’ve had a sweet roses birthday party, we’d love to see your photos! Or share this idea with someone you know who is planning a party for their little girl.   We hope you’ve found some party inspiration!

When planning a birthday party for kids,  we love to  plan around a theme. From the invitation to cupcake toppers to banner and party hats, a coordinating theme makes for an adorable and memorable birthday party. Choosing a unique theme can be a challenge which is why we are here to share some great birthday party themes especially for boys!

About these themes above:

1) Wild Western theme. We love the vintage woodblock font and think you could go really far with this theme!  Get some cowboy hats and chaps for this wild western party.

2) Laser tag theme. If you are lucky enough to have laser tag near where you live, or create a DIY laser tag party at home.  Get lots of glow sticks and lights.  Make your decorations very colorful!

3) A rock climbing party. If you have an indoor sports store with a climbing wall or even a rock climbing adventure center, boys will love this rock climbing party theme.

4) Rock and Roll party. A dance party is sure to be a hit!  Vinyl is making a comeback, this invitation just makes us want to dance.

5) Bowling Party. Head to your local bowling alley for a bowling party!  Best of all, there’s no clean up at your house.

6) Little Surfer Party. We love the idea of a little surfer boy pool party!   We see a lot of “shark” boy birthday parties and think this is a great alternative for your cool dude.

7)  Bug Party. We’re not playing favorites, but this could possibly be the most unique theme of all.   We love the idea of embracing those crawling creatures and carrying the theme throughout.  You can get really creative here!  Just imagine how fun you could get with the cake.

So what’s your favorite? Share your ideas with us here!

Over the last couple of weeks we’ve shared inspiration for an adult themed Halloween party (Boos and Brews!) and a Zombie Halloween party.  Today we are bringing it back for the kids!  Afterall, Halloween is all about them, right?   Check out these great ideas for a ghostly kids Halloween party.

From top to bottom, left to right find these great projects and products around the web by clicking below!

1.  Ghost invitation by Swanky Press

2. DIY Witches hat tutorial

3. Orange burlap wreath

4. Chevron pumpkin pillowcase dress

5. Milk shooters 

6. Ghoshly treats 

7. Ghost cookies 

8. Trick or treat bag 

9. Halloween nails 

We hope you love these ideas for your Halloween party!  We’d love to see what you are up to this season with your kids. Be sure to share your party pictures with us on our Facebook page!

Halloween is a fun time to get creative, especially with a party.  At Swanky Press we are loving the zombie party trend simply because there’s so much room to get creative! From your invitation to decor to food, bring out the zombies and enjoy some inspiration here.

Find all of this great inspiration on the web, from top to bottom, left to right.

#1:  This Halloween decor looks great on a mantel, from One Kings Lane.

#2:  These spooky zombie hands go under your door!

#3:  This zombie apocalypse invitation can be found at Swanky Press.

#4:  How about a dip with carrot fingers?  We love this healthy scary food here!

#5:  Candle votives or shot glasses, you decide!  These vintage skull and bones stickers go right on your glassware.

#6:  R.I.P. desserts are perfect for a zombie party.

#7:  Brain cupcakes anyone?

#8:  The back of the zombie apocalypse invitation from Swanky Press can be displayed on your buffet table. Or enjoy a free printable here! 

#9:  Enjoy this great sign that we found for the season on Etsy.

#10:  No happy pumpkins at a zombie party! Only scary pumpkins like this!

So what do you think? Are you ready to host a Zombie party?  Stay tuned for more great Halloween party inspiration coming up on Simply Swanky.

While Halloween tends to be a time for children to dress up and trick-or-treat, there’s no reason why adults can’t have a little fun during the season too.   Which is why Swanky Press has rounded up all the best ideas for an adult Halloween party or as we like to call it: a Boos and Brews Party!

Find all of these great decor items, party supplies, and DIY craft tutorials around the web here.

1)  Jack-o-lantern stickers for martini shakers from Etsy.  Adorn your classes with these easy to peel off and stick on stickers!

2) A full tutorial on how to create this fabulous bunting and Cake idea can be found here!

3) Start the party off right with this Boos and Brews invitation from Swanky Press.

4) Cupcake toppers , an inexpensive and easy way to add flair to plain cupcakes!

5) Fondant cake or cookie toppers from Etsy will make your cookie or cake look extra festive!

6) Halloween chalkboard wall art will greet your guests warmly for the season.

7) Chevron Halloween treat bags  will ensure your guests go home with a treat in style!

8) Halloween wreath will set the tone of this stylish party from the main entrance.  And it can be used all Fall!

9) We can’t get enough of these trick-or-treat painted pumpkins. Full tutorial here!

Libby O here and I am thrilled to guest post today on Simply Swanky!  I have been a customer of Swanky Press for years and share their passion for invitations, great parties and beautiful custom designs.  When it came to plan my daughter’s 4th birthday party at Lawton Stables in Hilton Head, I scored some great items from Swanky Press to make the party complete.  Here’s a look back on all of the party details.

The birthday girl arrived her personalized t-shirt which I ordered at Swanky Press.

Plastic milk bottles and paper straws (also from Swanky Press… I told you they were my go-to for party supplies!) made for a fun drink display.

I ordered these super cute farm sugar cookies and gave them as take home favors. On the back I added party favor stickers that said “Thanks for coming to my party! Molly” that coordinated beautifully with the party invitation.

I used my PSA Essentials custom stamp throughout in my crafts available at Swanky Press.  Swanky Press can design for you any self-inking stamp design.  Self-inking stamps are great to make cupcake toppers, use for invitations, paper crafts, banners, and so much more.

What a great party, my daughter and her friends truly had a blast!

It’s always fun to see what trends take off in our designs.  This month, we played around with glitter-look designs, and had the joy of watching your response to it.  You’ve made our Glitter our number 1 selling iPhone case, and we’ll be adding some more sparkle throughout the site over the next few weeks.

 Just for fun, I’ve designed a free, downloadable poster that you can print at home on 8.5 by 11 inch paper.  I think it sums up what a lot of us are thinking at the moment.  Enjoy, and if you download, we’d love for you to leave us a comment about your glitter-love!

You can download the poster here.  If you want to use an 8×10 inch frame, just trim the design to size.  Trimming to an 8×10 inch will cut off some dots, but none of the critical design elements.

We threw a party for my daughter’s 7th birthday this weekend with a Mermaid theme.  My sweet daughter has been a bit obsessed by mermaids recently, so I was really able to have some fun with the theme!  We were aiming for an elegant feel … more like a casual beach wedding than a Disney mermaid party.  We tried to pull in the elements of ombre blue/aqua, pearls, and starfish.  Please feel free to leave comments…I’d love feedback!  You can see the inspiration for a lot of these ideas on my Pinterest Mermaid Party Board.

The invitations, shown above, featured an ombre mermaid scale pattern on the back and had aqua and honeysuckle on the front.  The invitations are available here.

The cake was simply divine…and all due to the amazing talent of Noi at Noi’s Gifts and Gourmet.  Every time I tell her an inspiration for a party, I’m just amazed at what she does  The cake stand was decorated with a sheer aqua ribbon, strands of pears, and starfish.

The party was held at our country club pool, and we welcomed the guests with a hand painted sign inviting them to Mermaid Lagoon.  We made the sign using by painting the boards white, letting it dry, and then painting aqua over.  Once it was dry, we sandpapered it so the white “worn”  paint showed from underneath.  I used my Silhouette to cut out letters, and used them as a stencil.  Then, I finished the sign by hot glueing starfish to it.

My favorite party feature was actually the hardest to photograph:  jellyfish party lanterns.  We hung them all over using clear fishing line, so they seemed to “float” about.  They were made from paper lanterns, crepe paper, and strips of plastic table-cloths.  You can learn how to make them here.  (The tutorial is from Party City, and you can get their coupon codes here for the supplies.)

The girls were served a full hamburger lunch poolside, but for the munchies we wanted to keep with the under-the-sea theme.

I made “clam cookies” using shortbread cookies and pink buttercream frosting.  I added a small candy pearl to each.  The clams were sitting on a bed of sand, which was actually just crushed graham crackers.

I filled a fishbowl with pearl gumdrops and blue and aqua rock candy, both of which can be found on amazon.

I made peppermint sea shells using chocolate molds.  For each set, I used 1 bag of white chocolate candy melts and one drop of peppermint oil.  The chocolate shells will melt quickly, so they were a little difficult in the heat.  You can see from the photo that we ended up putting them on a bed of ice, which helped some.

I actually tried several recipes trying to come up with a tasty sand dollar cookie. In the end, the best tasting option was a basic snickerdoodle recipe.  I flattened the cookies and then pressed on sliced almonds just before baking.

The food tables were filled with all sorts of underwater treats.  In this case, we filled clamshells with salt water taffy.

I love having healthy options at a party, so we made a cute octopus out of 2 red peppers and floated in him in a sea of hummus.  We had sea-salt pita chips available, but the girls had more fun eating his legs!  Definitely bring a few dozen extra legs so you can keep replacing them.

The octopus eyes are candy eyes from our local cake decorating shop.  I attached them with a little melted which chocolate as the glue.  On a funny note, after the temperature hit 90F, the eyes started melting, and the black ran down his face like octopus tears.  One of the girls saw this, and said, “Look, he’s inking!”

The plates and paper straws were all in an aqua and white them.  We used seashells to weight down the napkins so they wouldn’t blow around in the breeze.

Now, for the party activities:

Obviously, since it was a pool party, we knew the girls would be swimming most of the time.  Before they got in the water, though, we told them about a secret “mermaid potion” that would give them mermaid tails when they were in the pool.  They had to sign a contract saying they wanted to be a mermaid, and then they all drank the magic potion (which was seven up with a few drops of food coloring).

As soon as they jumped in the pool, they all figured out that it was a make-believe game and their tails started growing!  Since we humans couldn’t see their tails, they had the best time describing them to us: purple, pink, glittery…and one little girl apparently had a tail covered in peace signs!

After lunch and cake, we had another activity ready.  We purchased a tiny mermaid charm for each girl, and the girls got to make either bracelets or necklaces out of them.  We had all sorts of colored embroidery floss for them to choose from.

At the end of the party, we had “treasures” for each girl to take home.  The treasures were waiting for them in a treasure box, and tied up with a cute note thanking them for coming to the party.   All the printed party goods are available at www.SwankyPress.com.

The party favors were rice krispie treats in the shape of starfish.  I added candy eyeballs (using a little melted white chocolate as the glue).