What's brewing...Gabriel's 4th birthday Party

For my rapidly growing baby's 4th birthday party, we chose a 50's Diner & Soda Shop theme.

"Powered" by my own satisfaction with the previous invitations I designed myself (Halloween and Baby Shower), I got more ambitious this time around and here is the result! The colors of the party will be red and blue, plus the black and white checkered pattern honoring the traditional retro diner design. I printed them on card stock and stuffed these babes into blue envelopes to make sure all the colors were represented :-)

I found these free images online (actually icons), and after using some of them on the invitation, I though it would be a shame to waste the ones that couldn't fit into the card.

So I printed a few food icons and intend to use them to "mark" the foods on the table, as well as the milkshakes that will go into these mini bottles I kept from my baby shower.

Here are the food "flags" showing typical kids diner fare.

I made this banner with my new Martha Stewart round cutter and used Red & Aqua digital papers from Great Graphics. 

As party favors, we'll be giving retro gumball machines to our beloved guests

Retro Kitchen Timer Clock in turquoise

I was visiting my in-laws in Florida last Thanksgiving, and one of the things I love to do when I'm there is to explore flea markets, thrift and antique shops.  This time around, I had "retro" and "diner" on my mind and was sooooo lucky to have found this gumball machine to serve as a "centerpiece" for the party favors table display.  Score!!

Once I set them all up, I noticed something was missing... oh yeah, a little tag to cover the gum's brand name.

Adorable cake server from Etsy!

50s plastic glasses for the kids (and adults as well!) to wear at the party and then to take home. For the boy glasses I added a white tape for that "nerd" look.

I needed a traditional diner napkin holder, but didn't want to buy one for a single-use only... Then I remembered I had one with a design by Valérie Nylin.  A few coats of red paint later, it was ready to go!

To keep up with the takeout tradition, I decided to do something a little different, yet consistent with what a takeout box looked like at a traditional diner.  So, I went on a big search for aluminum pans with board lids that I could customize.

I covered them with fabric in different patterns of aqua and red, added a ribbon and "Thank you/Obrigado" tags on top.

I thought the "party gods" were on my side when I went to Michael's to return some supplies and found these reusable totes at their dollar bin... They will be perfect for guests to carry their favors, take out and more fun stuff home!

Stay tuned for the next post about the big day!!

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Halloween 2011 - Itsy Bitsy Spider...

UPDATE:  Did you like the party printables I used for this Halloween party?  You can find them (and more!) for purchase here and a matching pennant banner here.  Check it out!

As I mentioned before, this year's Halloween celebration was going to be all about spiders, so here they are:

I made this invitation for our Halloween Party and printed them on cardstock to send out to our guests.  I put this design together fairly quickly and am satisfied with the result.  I know, it is a pretty basic card, but for someone like me, who is so unfamiliar with graphic design and photo editing, it is a real accomplishment :-)

I had an "adults-only" beverage station separate from the other food tables.  The two drinks shown are a tangerine mimosa (champagne + tangerine juice) and a black cherry + black vodka "concoction", which I named Spidertinis and served in... oh well, martini glasses.  You can purchase this "welcome" bunting here (digital file.)

I wet the rim of the glasses and then dipped them in orange and black sanding sugar.

I cut a plastic spider ring and wrapped it around a martini glass stem. You might want to add glitter to the spiders if it suits your fancy :-)

This is a little trick I got from Martha Stewart: "bloody eyes" made out of lychees stuffed with maraschino cherries.  They were the little surprise at the end of the drink picks...

My original idea was to get a handful of test tubes and use them as shot glasses, adding dry ice for a more "eerie" effect.  Since I couldn't find neither dry ice nor a test tube stand that I liked, I poured the drinks in Erlenmeyer flasks for a "mad scientist" look, and decorated the "drinking glasses" with some adorned straws. 

The buffet table from every angle...

Mini candelabra and cake stands snagged at eBay. Cuuuuuute!!!  Spider web cupcakes tutorial here.

  Halloween-inspired fortune cookies. Black and orange in color with spooky messages inside...

"A crazy bat will get stuck in your hair"

Glass cylinders got a "facelift" with black, white and orange ribbons.  I made polka dot "Boo" labels for the orange and black swirl lollipops.

Ornate glass bottles for the juices

 Remember the upcycled jars from the previous post? 

Black and orange fabric flowers with spiders climbing on them.  I wrapped the candles with orange and black spider lace found at Etsy.  The black plate is a plastic charger plate from Party City.

 Mercury glass candle holders give it a haunted mansion feeling...

Mini croissant sandwiches: Turkey, Swiss & Tomato; Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese & Chives; Roasted Eggplant, Smoked Mozzarella & Basil 

After a previous disappointing experience with my stovetop smoker, I am glad to report that this second time around, the homemade smoked chicken tasted divine!  I was looking for an "upgrade" to a basic Waldorf salad and that added the rich flavor I was after...

Greek salad with mint oil.  As a garnish, ghost-shaped potato chips found at Whole Foods Market.  It is hard to see, but the paper cone has a spider web pattern against a black background.

Even the soups served were color-coordinated: Chipotle Black Bean and Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper.

In fact, I focused on black and orange foods and beverages, like this black rice Thai-inspired salad with mangoes, cilantro and red bell pepper.

The big spider was supposed to be hanging from the ceiling, but I decided to delegate this job to the tallest person of the house (definitely not me), who certainly taught me one valuable lesson: if you want something done well (or done at all!), do it yourself... Yeah, the spider never made it past the food stand.  But it looked nice there too!

 Detail of the punched out spider on the food tag

No Brazilian party (in the US at least) would be complete without "pão de queijo".  Even better when it is made from scratch.

 An overview of the main table, the buffet table and its surroundings

I had purchased these cream puffs the day before and wasn't sure what to do with them...  Then I found some mixed berries in my freezer and whipped up a berry coulis to serve with the puffs.  When plating, I got playful and spelled "help!" with the sauce on the white plate before placing the sweets on top of it.  As my guests were "clearing" the plate (and that happened quickly), they saw the desperate blurred message underneath...

My "scary" family photos :-)

and some fake cobwebs all over!

 I love how the spiders just dangle from this table runner

I dragged my dress form from my closet to be the "hostess" of the night.  I threw an orange boa, a few bead necklaces and a "Happy Halloween" sign around its "neck" and had it greeting guests at the door. 

 

My oldest boy getting ready for the much anticipated party.  He changed his mind the day before everything was arranged for him to be Spider Man, and we had to come up with an emergency pirate outfit (with a Jimmy Hendrix shirt underneath...) Three costumes later, and he was Batman by the end of the day...

 No arguing about costumes here.  Miss Piggy & Kermit, the frog.

I truly felt safe with all the super heroes at home that day...

Did you like the party printables I used for this Halloween party?  You can find them (and more!) for purchase here and a matching pennant banner here.  Check it out!

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