Pipsy Post

One of my daughters just discovered the old H20 series on Netflix, and is obsessing over mermaids.  She asked for a mermaid party, so I’ve been scouring the internet for inspiration.  I designed a mermaid invitation using ombre scales as the backside print…and the ideas grew from there.  I’ll post my followup in a few weeks showing how the actual party turned out, but in the meantime, enjoy my inspiration.  Oh, and you can follow my Mermaid Pinterest Board to see new ideas as I add them!

1.  The mermaid invitation is available exclusively at Swanky Press – I made it with my daughter in mind. My design inspiration was a sophisticated mermaid theme -think pearls, starfish, and ombre and absolutely no Ariel or Disney Princesses.

2.  A gorgeous ombre ruffle cake – featured on Kara’s Party Ideas by Bubble and Sweet Blog.

3.  I just drooled when I saw how beautiful these chocolates are!  The Girl Inspired did a great tutorial …and I’m so grateful she gave the tip about the luster dust.  I actually just finished making a batch (or 5) of these today.  I’ll share my photos when I post about the actual party.

4.  “Mermaids in the Water…Swimmers Beware!”  This clever sign from Hydrangea Hill Cottage on etsy is a great find.  It’s sure to make the both mermaids and humans smile!

5.  Hungry Happenings did a post about all the ways you can make S’mores – and then did an amazing tutorial for these starfish smores. The marshmallows are handmade, dipped in chocolate and then coated in graham cracker crumbs. You really must head over to her blog and read about it – she gives very clear step-by-step instructions with lots of photos.

6.  Susanne Ashby of Susanne Ashby Photography shared her mermaid party on Kara’s Party Ideas.  I love the idea of the starfish wands.  I haven’t found enough starfish that large to make this…but it’s a great idea!

7.  I’ve seen variations of these jellyfish paper lanterns around, and after searching it looks like the original idea came from the Party City blog.  I didn’t even know they had a blog!  (Photo credit: HTWM party feature, styling by April of Events Inspired by Love.)

8.  Sweet glass bottles filled with layered glitter and a message – perfect party favors for the girls!  Created by These Tiny Treasures on etsy.

9.  Sprinke Bakes blog gave a diy tutorial on making these icicle candies.  When I look at them, I just see seaweed!  It’s a great way to add a homemade touch to the party.

I just love looking at the Pantone website for color inspiration.  They have released their top picks for fashion color trends for Fall 2013.  The colors will be found throughout fall fashion trends, and Many of these colors will make the leap from the runways into stationery and invitation design.As a designer, I am always looking at the seasonal color trends to see how they can inspire me to come up with some fresh new looks for Swanky Press.  Interestingly enough, if you look at the new Christmas Cards that are already on the web for this year, you’ll see that Linden Green and Deep Lichen Green are already making a showing (before we saw this list)!  I love the shade of grey in Turbulence, and plan on using that tone with more of our gift items and home decor.  Mykonos Blue, Vivacious, and Acai will get picked up on birth announcements and invitations.

As for me personally, I’m most drawn by Vivacious and and Acai.  I think I’ll design a new iPhone case in those colors for myself.  I’ve been holding on to my iPhone 4s for 2 years now, and am anxiously awaiting the new iPhone release in late September so I can upgrade.  (Just a hint….same as last year, Swanky Press will have cases to fit the new releases THE SAME DAY the phone launches.  Most retailers make you wait a few weeks while they rush to make the cases.  No worries here – we are all set and ready to go!)

If you are drawn to any of the new colors, don’t forget that you can always leave a note in “special requests” when ordering any of our products stating that you want a color change.  We don’t charge extra for this…and honestly, it’s really fun to see all the great color combinations our clients pull together!

I just love reading the Eighteen25 blog…and was so happy to collaborate with them on a back-to-school giveaway!  Head on over to Eighteen 25 to be entered to win a back to school prize pack consisting of a lunchbox, water bottle and bag tag, all personalized and coordinated for your child.  The giveaway ends in 4 days, so hurry on over to enter!

I like big ‘bots, and I cannot lie.  No seriously, I love robots.  This party inspiration board gathers together the best ideas from around the web…and has two free printables.  Ive included all the shopping links just below the image – to make pulling your party together that much more simple.  Follow our robot party board on pinterest – we’ll be constantly updating it as we find new, clever ideas.

1. We designed these invitations imagining a 3 and under party – soft colors with a happy robot.  You can find them at Swanky Press.  The invites are 2-sided…which means you can add extra party details or a photo on the back if needed.

2.  These cookies are just perfection.  I found them on The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.  The amazing thing is that she made them with cookie cutter shapes you probably already have. Please check out her blog…the tutorial is fabulous!

3.  I had grand ambitions to make my own party wreath.  I headed out to Home Depot with my kids to make something robotic.  I’m imagined ductwork and gears – but couldn’t find the right gears to make the perfect effect.  What do you know, when I got home, I found the MOST AMAZING gear wreath ever…and it just dwarfed the design I had in my head!  So I must say, TechShopKathryn on instructables…you have made the best robot | gear | steampunk wreath ever!.  Kudos…and thanks for the instructions!

4.  Adorable favor bags by ForYourLittleMonkey on etsy.com.  At only $18.00 for 10 bags – it’s an amazing deal for a custom item.

5. Toxic Paper Company, a design firm out of Spain, made these incredible printables.  They are free for download and couldn’t be a cooler party favor (if the kids are 5 and up).  If your kids are younger, I’d print these out and make them yourself for party decor.

6. I love making juice box wrappers – they just look so fun lined up on the food table.  These are free to download courtesy of Swanky Press.  The robot is on the front, and the sides and back have the gear pattern.

7.  These robot food-safe molds can be used for all sorts of projects:  soap, lollipops, chocolates.  Be creative and have fun!

8.  Andie Specialty Sweets on etsy makes some of the most beautiful molded candies I’ve seen.  I have no idea how they get that gold effect in the candy, but they use organic, fair trade ingredients. The candy is VEGAN, too – and as a person with severe food allergies, I love to see desserts that are vegan because they are just safer for that many more guests to eat.  (Check out their scrabble tiles and buttons and gear lollipops, too – amazing!)

9.  Taffie Wishes on etsy makes these adorable cardstock gears.She also sells very cute coordinating robot items, so please check out her shop!

At the end of summer last year, I threw a Hawaiian luau for one of my daughters.  It’s a great theme for a pool party, and all the girls really got into the idea.  Swanky Press offers luau invitations with a hula dancer, and they will change the hair and eye color (and anything else you want) to maker her look like the birthday girl.

You can see even more luau party ideas on my Pinterest board – feel free to follow the board as I’m always updating it as I run across new ideas.

The party desserts were done by Noi of Noi’s Gifts and Gourmet.  I just wish you could taste them – these were honestly the tastiest cupcakes I’ve ever had.  She covered the tops with crumbled graham crackers to give it a “sandy beach” look. She then made tiny flip flops and hibiscus flowers out of fondant and added them to each cupcake.  As a final touch, we added a paper drink umbrella to each one for a tropical feel.

Noi also wanted the birthday girl to have a special cake, so as a surprise for my daughter, she created a small centerpiece cake with a hula dancer and tiki man.  We put it on a cake stand and wrapped the cake stand in a grass skirt.

No beach-themed party is complete without a shark, so I made one out of a watermelon.  I carved him the night before the party, and balled the watermelon as I went.  Making the shark head took quite a bit of time, so make sure you plan to “carve” out some extra time the night before for this project.  His eyeballs are black olives, and I attached his fin with toothpicks.

I explained to my daughter that luau’s typically have a pig roast – but she said she didn’t want anything but sweets and snacks at her party.  My own version of a pig roast then, was to make pink peppermint pig candies.  I started with white chocolate melts from Michaels (in hot pink, of course), added a touch of peppermint oil, and molded them in tiny pig molds that I found at a candy supply store. You can make these a few days in advance and just seal them in an airtight container.

One of my favorite touches was nutter butter cookies that were decorated to look like flip flops.  We also got some inexpensive straws decorated with hibiscus flowers.  Goldfish made an easy “shark bait” snack.

The primary party activity was, of course, swimming.  We took a break half-way through, and each girl got a grass skirt and made a flower lei craft.  Once they were all dressed, a couple of the older sisters put on some ukelele music and taught the little girls how to hula.  The hula lesson was definitely the highlight of the party.

As a party favor, we gave each guest a sugar cookie in a cute chevron favor bag, sealed with a sticker that matched the invitations.  Noi made these awesome cookies, and hand-drew an iced hibiscus flower on each.

Maholo…thanks for reading!  If you have any ideas from your owl luau, please leave a comment and share!

ROARRR!  Little kids just love dinosaurs – but the “party store” plates and decor are overdone and boring. We put fresh twist on the theme, and pulled together ideas for a very modern, “dino-mite” party – sure to please both the kiddos and their stylish moms. We’ve included all the shopping links just below the image – to make pulling your party together that much more simple.  Follow our dinosaur board on pinterest – we’ll be constantly updating it as we find new, clever ideas.

1. Strong navy stripes are accented with pops of green and orange in these modern invitations by Swanky Press.  The invites are 2-sided…leaving plenty of room for all the party details.

2.  I just love the simplicity of this dinosaur silhouette t-shirt by OddEDesigns on etsy.  It would look just perfect on the birthday boy.  Her shop is fill with all sorts of cute shirts and onsies.  My personal favorite of her designs: click here to find out.

3.  Your Cupcake Story has such fun dinosaur fondant toppers.  They are such a great way to put a personal touch on cupcakes (and can make even grocery store cupcakes look fabulous.

4.  I cannot rave enough about these jars bright orange dinosaur lids.  Absolutely fabulous!  They’d be great for snacks or a centerpiece at the party, but just imagine how much fun they’ll be AFTER the party in your son’s room or playroom.

5.  These dinosaur claws are too clever – the credit goes to gourmetmomonthego.com.  She dipped nutter butter cookies in green food melts and added cashew claws.  You can find the full instructions here.

6. Dinosaur pinatas from amazon.com.

7.  The Pretty Paper Shop on Etsy makes fun, bright little food picks.  These 2-sided dinosaurs would look cute in all sorts of finger foods, or even attached to food tents on the dessert table.

8. Mod Cloth (*love them*, btw) sells these adorable dinosaur ice cube trays.

9.  If you’re throwing your dinosaur party at home, there would be nothing funnier than having your pet dog triceratops greet the guests at the door.  Thank you, Animal Planet!  (Take pics as soon as possible.  If your dog is anything like my boxer, Biscuit, then that costume will only stay on about 6o seconds!)

10. This image came from tumblr, and I can’t find the source.  These dinosaur egg cupcakes are brilliant, though.  If anyone knows who made them, please leave a comment so I can credit this brilliant baker!

In the amazing words of Pablo Picasso, ” It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”   That said, let your creative juices flow and enjoy our inspiration board for a perfect art party.  Keep reading below the image to learn where to get all the details for each idea or product. (We regularly update our pinterest Art Party board – so be sure to follow us for all the latest!)

1. This fun invitation is printed on both sides and can be purchased at Swanky Press.  There are matching notecards for thank you notes…and return address stickers, too!

2.  J and J Home is a blog filled with all sorts of craft and fun ideas.  They threw a rapunzel party and had the guest paint “masterpieces” as the party activity.  You don’t have to go to the expense of buying canvases for each child – they used cardboard boxes and set it up to look like an art gallery.

3.  These  little paint chip notebooks are genius!  Meow Kapow Shop on etsy made them with paint sample chips. I think these would be an amazing Art Party favor.

4.  I just love this crayon wreath by Create and Decorate on etsy.

5. Fruit Kebobs (with a great recipe for rainbow pancakes) can be found on Quick-Dish.

6.  These creative favor bags are a fabulous idea – the kids can create their OWN favor bag!  You can find them at Inchworm Goody Bags on etsy.  I might have the guests decorate the bags as an activity, and then fill them up with the goodies from a piñata.

7.  This idea comes from the Monkey See, Monkey Do blog.  Visit them to find out how to turn your empty baby food jars into bright crayon organizers.  I like these for the art table at the party OR as a centerpiece for decoration.  (And, of course, you can use them in your child’s craft area when the party is over!)

8.  Cake balls on an artist’s palette – too clever!  The idea came from Paper and Cake, and the yummy cake balls were made by Terri’s Treasures.  Paper and cake published a great party guide for an art party – it’s definitely worth checking out.  Don’t miss Terri’s blog for all sorts of other cake pop and dessert ideas.

9.  A great activity would be painting t-shirts.  The image came from Sara’s Party Perfect .

10.  This idea is from a party featured on A Little Sussy blog.  You’ve got to check out this party if you want some inspiration – it’s absolutely beautiful!  I love her idea of using crayons in jars as decoration.

11.  Plates from Polka Dot Market.

This week, we are showcasing a sweet playground bumblebee birthday party to get us in the mood for Spring – and offering a free printable from Swanky Press.  Read on to the end to download your free bumblee party printable.

This sweet bee party was thrown for a group of 4 and 5 year old girls.  The bee theme let the girls this age do what they love most:  DRESS UP!

Each girl got a bee costume consisting of a tshirt and antennae.  The t-shirts were yellow shirts (purchased with coupons from Michaels for $1.50 each).  Stripes were painted on using black fabric paint.  The headbands were also from a craft store, and the antenna were simply black pipe cleaners twisted onto the headbands.

In lieu of cake, we had fabulous lemon cupcakes piped with butter cream frosting.  They were finished with handmade fondant bumblebees.

For the food, the theme was yellow, black, and yummy.  The foods included “stinger” pretzel sticks, black licorice, lemon heads, and black & yellow rock candy.  Yellow and black paper straws from Swanky Press added another fun touch.

One of the favorite parts of the party was a beehive piñata.  The piñata was made by using paper mache on a balloon, and then after it dried, popping the ballon. The outside was wrapped with crepe paper, and a little craft-store fuzzy bee was added for effect.

Another big hit at the party was having the older sister and a friend set up a manicure station. They used bright yellow and black nail polish and gave the girls bumblebee striped manicures.

I hope you enjoyed your taste of Spring!  Now go “Bee Happy” with some free printables from Swanky Press!

Last week we posted about a fabulous rainbow party by Althea of Bakermama.  As part of the party, she made these amazing rainbow push pops, and has been sweet enough to show us how to do it.  We’ve also got some free rainbow and unicorn printables, so keep reading!

First, make a basic vanilla cake recipe.  There are lots of great recipes out there, but here’s one if you don’t have a favorite:

Next, divide the cake batter equally into 5 bowls and color each batch with food coloring before baking. Let the cakes cool completely. Since the push pop containers are 3″ long, cut the 5 cakes into 1/2″ thick sheets with a cake level (to make up 2 1/2″ of cake and leave an extra 1/2″ room for frosting in the 3″ push pop).  Then use a round cookie cutter (just a hair smaller than the diameter of the push pop) to cut out round discs.  Make a thin swirl of frosting between each layer to hold them together, then using a #32 piping tip, add a pretty swirl of frosting on the top plus a few colorful sprinkles. Easiest thing ever!

Now that you’ve made your fabulous rainbow push pops, we’d like to give you some free printable rainbow goods to dress them up.  We’ve made three designs for you, and you can print them out on either cardstock or sticker stock – whichever works best for your party.  To make the round ones, use a 2″ punch.  Enjoy!  Click on the picture to download the free printables.

It’s a gloomy, rainy week here in Nashville, so I thought I’d brighten things up and feature a beautiful party by Althea of Bakermama.  Althea worked on this party with Erica, the owner of Ton of Fun, a party supply store in Kodiak, Alaska.  Stay tuned, because on Friday, I’ll feature the recipe and how-to for the amazing rainbow cake push-ups – along with a free rainbow printable.

All the party supplies came from Tons of Fun, and I have to say, that rainbow table skirt is just amazing.  I also adore the idea of the paper lanterns used as a backdrop in the empty picture frame.  I’ll be borrowing that idea for some future dessert tables, I’m sure.

Althea’s rainbow unicorn cake is a masterpiece, as well.  She hand painted food coloring rainbow stripes on the cake, and then cut out horse silhouettes from black fondant.  I think my favorite touch is the unicorn horn – made of multicolored sprinkles.  The idea of the sprinkle horn came directly from the birthday girl, Olivia – that’s one creative 9-year old!

The tables were decorated with bright yellow buckets filled with Skittles (“taste the rainbow”…isn’t that their catch-phrase?).  Althea then made rainbow cake push pops and anchored them in the skittles.  The rainbow sticker is from Swanky Press, and has a full line of matching products.

IMPORTANT:  Come back Friday and I’ll tell you exactly how Althea made the push pops, and have a free rainbow printable for you to use at your next party!

2013:  SPARKLE.  SHINE.  FIZZ.

This past year has been amazing.  I want to take a step back from the whirlwind of our shop and say “thank you”.   We wouldn’t be where we are without all of our fabulous readers and clients.  You have made this a hallmark year, and we truly appreciate it.

To celebrate, my hubby, kids and I are heading to a New Year’s eve party in a couple of hours.  I just realized I hadn’t made any gift tags for the champagne, so I’ve whipped some up and would like to share them with you.  You can click on the image below to download your free New Year’s wine gift tags.

Salut!

I am very excited to introduce you our guest blogger,  Erin of Erin Carlyle Photography!  Erin is an amazing photographer, and was voted Houston’s best children’s photographer.  Erin is going to share her top 10 tips for taking your own Christmas card photos.

I’m not a writer, but I am a great list maker. When I was asked to make a list of my top 10 tips for photographing your own children, I was thrilled!  This is all of my favorite things rolled in to one…lists, children, photography, and Christmas.  So here it goes – my top 10 tips for photographing your own children…

1. It is really important to start planning your shoot in advance.  If you wait until the last minute you will be stressed and it will cause the kids to be frantic and will create not so great pictures.   I usually start with the clothes.  When picking out clothes for your session stay away from solid white, as it tends to wash your skin out.   Mix up colors, textures, patterns and plaids.  Keep in mind that you want your kids to be comfortable in their clothes, so picking out their Sunday best might not be the optimal choice.
2. The next step in planning is to pick a location.  Look for a pretty location that has open shade.  Try to avoid spots that have distractions in the background, such as trashcans, signs and such.  You will want the picture to be about the children and not draw people in to the distractions in the background.  You want to make sure they have enough light on their faces.  I usually hold up my hand and turn in a circle and watch my hand to see when the light brightens up my hand…then that is where I put my subject.
3. The third step is to pick the time of the location.  I prefer evening light about an hour or two before sunset.   But I understand that little ones don’t necessarily do as well at night.  But if you want to try for evening light and you are worried about how your little one will do the next step might be helpful.
4. Make sure to feed your children before the session.  This sounds silly but full bellies will be happy longer!  And if dinner is taken care of then maybe you can go out for ice cream after your session.
5. Do you prefer the candid approach, posed approach  or both?  For candid pictures, get them busy doing something they enjoy and just start shooting.  For the posed approach, don’t expect to keep their attention for too long, so shoot quickly!  If you want some of each, start with the posed approach and let them play at the end.  It will be hard for them to go from fun and silly to serious and posed.  It is much more natural to go the other way.
6. Assuming your children are smaller than you, get on their level and have your camera even with their eyes.  This makes for a much more interesting and intimate shot.
7. Think about your angle.  I prefer close ups for cards especially, so don’t be afraid to get close.  If you can choose a focal point on your camera, choose the eyes!  Eye contact is how we connect with each other, so photographers use the subject’s eyes to make a connection with the viewer.
8. Stay calm and don’t fuss! This step is always hard for me when I’m photographing my own children.  Make it fun and interact with them.  Ask them silly questions (Do you like to eat worm spaghetti?  Do you think we should take a bath in peanut butter tonight?).  Bring someone along who makes them laugh.  I usually bring my husband along who makes silly faces behind me and dances.  If you prefer camera aware pictures (where they are looking at the camera) then that person needs to be standing directly behind you while you are shooting so they will look at the camera.
9. Show them the back of the camera after you’ve taken a few pictures.  Once they see pictures of themselves and know they are doing great, they will want to continue to do a good job.
10. I usually tell my children that if they listen and follow instructions then I will let them pose themselves at the end.  I let them each make 5 funny faces for the camera.  Thank goodness for digital!

I hope this helps some of you.  I haven’t always loved taking pictures of my own children.  I thought that it was too stressful and I wanted that “perfect” picture.  I’ve learned to relax and enjoy them and their silliness. When I look back at the pictures from the past I always appreciate the silly ones the most!  So have fun capturing your little ones and making memories that you will treasure!

Note from Simply Swanky:  Please checkout Erin’s website and blog.  She is such a talented photographer.  If you are in the Houston area, I strongly recommend you put your family and photos in her hands – and see the magic she can bring to life.