Sunday, May 29, 2011

Memorial Day Family BBQ/ Julian's 6th Birthday Celebration

My brother Xavier and his family live in Washington and are visiting this week. We decided to host a small Memorial Day family BBQ for the family to come over to visit, eat some good food and have some family fun. Also, to kill two birds with one stone we decide to celebrate Julian's 6th birthday.

Because it was so last minute (you know I am the last minute queen) I did not have time to order online and I did not want to spend to much mula the BBQ includes a lot of DIY, upcycling, and bargain shopping (aka Dollar Stores).

Every great party starts at the door right?? Since Natalie from The Knock Knock Factory (aka Little Shindigs) also lives in So Cal, she was able to make this FUN red, white, and cute BBQ wreath. Her details were beyond amazing!
The weather was perfect setting up outside in the morning! Sunny and beautiful..then all of a sudden oh oh..the WIND! Everything was moving..we tried to get a good shot with everything in its place but it was hard, therefore the forks and straws are not perfectly alined and the paper fans..that were suppose to be my backdrop not perfectly centered..What can you do right? Thought you would appreciate the not so perfect table.
Julian's jumbo cupcake made by Ralphs (yes the grocery store)
Cupcakes made by Sams..I decorated them with gummy hamburgers, hotdogs, and candy buttons from Dollar Tree..thanks to Natalie's fab idea!
The favors were tinny cherry and blueberry pies and
tini jars filled with blue gumballs and raspberry candy
Favor pie idea was inspired by this Style Me Pretty photo found via Pinterest
Star watermelon and blueberry cup idea came from Chica and Jo (also found via Pinterest).
Love using mason jars for our summer parties, had some left over from last years BaByQ. The Star flags I made with upcycled 4th of July popcorn boxes from last year. The tini pinwheels I purchased at Micheals 6 for $1.50! Thank you J for the heads up!
So I must admit..I did not make the paper fans..purchased them at Party City. $6.50 for all of them, just added the six to the middle and presto!
Kept the table centerpieces simple, I used coke bottles and large mason jars to hold flowers.
The kiddies drank cherry and blueberry Kool Aid juices, the grown peeps (like me) drank cranberry juice with fresh blueberries mixed with vodka..yummy!
Menu included good all american food, hamburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, potato chips
Sweet treats included snowcones, cupcakes, peanuts, and fresh fruit cups
This is my most favorite decoration..I made the banner triangles and left the center blank for Julian to write his own name..made the banner extra special! The little guy truly enjoyed being my little helper..a memory I will have forever.
DIY canvas photos (total project was about $12.00 for all 6 photos..will post a tutorial soon).
Another quick and easy DIY I purchased large number 6 at the 99 cents store..wrapped it in yarn.
$2.oo DIY flag banner inspired by this photo on Pinterest.
Julian's last minute request (he is the last minute prince..LOL) a Spongebob pinata..yes I know does not match the theme but it did make my little guy very happy! And not to mention it made the adults laugh..why does the candy come out of there?? LOL!
Julian got lots of great gifts and cards from everyone..he was a happy little guy! But his fave gift was from Uncle Xavier and Auntie Amanda..his first Wii..he loves it!

What a great day! It was a lot of fun getting the family together, eating great food, having yummy drinks and celebrating my little mans birthday!

Happy Memorial Day!
Claudia

P.S. Thanks so much Xavier for the great photos, if you live in the Everett, Washington area and need a children's or small events photographer send me an email at claudia@tiniposh.com..I can give you Xavier's contact information..his photos are amazing and prices are very reasonable!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Featured Party- Cinco De Mayo Fiesta

Today's featured party is a bonita fiesta by Jeannette at J at your Service! She had a small gathering for her family and close friends for Cinco De Mayo. She set up a lovely and yummy table using our free printables. Love her photos, they look very vintage Mexico!

Check out her fiesta and read a little about J..she recently got a new fancy website and launched her new business..but I will let her tell you herself.. (YAY two guest bloggers in one week!!)

Love the tablecloth and fabric swag above the Tini Banner!
She tied the printable circles around the Jarritos using twine
and to decorate this tini pinata...too cute!
She Kept Calm and Partied On..LOL!

Meet J:
My name is Jeannette Rivas, J for short (I hate my name, lol). I'm a mother of 3 and a wife, so as you can imagine I never have a dull moment. I recently started a small children's party planning company, working from home. I also have a brand new site to match, J. At Your Service.com. I've always had a passion for planning parties for my children, even if it's just cake and streamers. What matters to me most is that the children are having fun! Of course fun, unique details don't hurt either. I'm a lover of DIY projects, especially for my parties. I also have a love for the printable goodies and I wish I was talented enough to create those kinds of details, I am trying to learn though.

My goal is to provide a special day for your child, even if it's something small. And even if an extra small detail is all you need. All parties are special and should be just as important as an extravagant event.

For my small Cinco De Mayo gathering I HAD to use Tini Posh's free printables. They were too cute to pass up! Claudia being the good friend that she is, sent me a mini bunting for my jello mold..... she's the sweetest! The vibrant colors are what drew me to her printables, so unique and not what you would normally see for this occasion. I LOVED them and my guest did as well. Thank you so much Claudia for the generous gift and for featuring it here! Yay, I've never been a guest blogger before!!

Thank you J! Too see more of this fiesta and J's other fab parties visit her NEW website http://www.jatyourservice.com or become a fan on Facebook .

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Lil Dude's 1st Birthday - Surf's Up

As promised..I begged Jennifer for photos of Lil Ryder's 1st Birthday..not only did she agree to share the photos but she agreed to be guest on the blog.. (our 1st guest blogger..YAY! Hopefully more to come soon!
Jennifer is a sweetie, she found Julian's Surf's Up party on Catch my Party and contacted me about making some birthday products for her lil dude. She is a fun loving mama who loves parties..I have a feeling this is just the beginning to many more great parties to come! She decided to keep the same color combo as Julian's party..orange and turg..She really did an AMAZING job..love all her little details..

To get the party started right...a custom Knock Knock welcome wreath...I am always in awwe of all of Natalie's work... her wreaths are one of a kind.

Love the kids table, centerpieces, surf report and board pinata!

Banners, Favor tags, Food picks, Invitations and Food Labels were made by Tini.

Dude...love the favors..especially the most adorable Surf cookies..made by

The Sweetest Thing Cookies.

Cutest lil dude smash cake ever..but not as cute as the lil dude! Happy 1st Birthday Ryder!

Meet Jennifer McGee:

I am a wife and mom of 2 beautiful boys, Landon (4) and Ryder(1). I'm a Full-time Dental Hygienist. I really love what I do! I love to decorate and garden. I'm addicted to Zumba!! Im really getting into a lot more DIY projects and trying to be more crafty. In addition I have ALWAYS enjoyed party planning and adding cute unique details to make a party extra special! I've always said if I wasn't a Dental Hygienist I would love to do party planning. Many of my friends tell me I should do it on the side. I have considered it and who knows what the future has in store for me?!

I had so much fun planning little Ryder's first birthday party. I picked the theme in January and then took off with my ideas. My oldest son's birthday is in December so we always have to have his parties indoors. In fact last year at his 4th birthday party it snowed! I hoped if I had another child it would be in a spring or summer month just so we could have outdoor birthday parties, lol. I LOVE the outdoors and so do both of my boys! In the summertime we are rarely indoors. We love the sunshine!

Claudia was AMAZING to work with!!! I contacted her back in January and told her my son's first birthday was the end of April and I wanted to go with a Surf's Up theme. She did such a fabulous job on her son's fifth birthday party it gave me a ton of inspiration. After the first couple emails we shared, I knew she was going to be awesome to work with. I couldn't have been more pleased with the things she made for me. I loved it all, but my favorite has to be the custom 12 month banner she made for Ryder. It is Super Cute and I will keep it forever! We were blessed with Gorgeous weather the day of the party. The party was at 5:00. I was a actually running a little behind, but a couple of my best friends came early to help me get everything set up ( Thank Goodness!) It was an evening filled with close friends and family, great food, and some fun beach music to get everybody in the festive mood! The birthday boy definitely had a blast and was in a great mood for his party. I'm so glad I have all the wonderful pics to look back on and remember baby Ryder's Surf's Up 1st Birthday.

Vendor Credits:
Invitation, Banners, Favor tags, Food picks and labels: Tini Posh
Cupcakes: Cakes by Ju

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